


Trust Me

by JJCross



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Brother-Sister Relationships, Consensual Underage Sex, Father-Daughter Relationship, Insecurity, Jealousy, M/M, One-sided Danny Phantom/Sam Manson, Phantom Planet never happened, Secrets make everything worse, Teen Angst, Trust Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-11
Updated: 2014-10-27
Packaged: 2018-02-12 18:41:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 47,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2120601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JJCross/pseuds/JJCross
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Danny Fenton is a senior in high school, dating his ex-nemesis Vlad Masters. After three years, Danielle Phantom comes back to Amity Park, asking for Danny's help. But as Vlad and Danny assist Danielle, Danny begins to feel the insecurities of his relationship with the billionaire, questioning his decisions as well as the feelings Vlad truly has for him...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So I'm still getting used to the tagging process, so if along the way anyone thinks I need to add any other tags, please let me know! ^^

Danny sighed as his senses returned to him. Waking up sucked. When you’re awake, you feel sore and irritated and tired even if you’ve slept for half the day. Danny sighed as that grogginess made his limbs lead and his head spin thickly. His skin was cold and clammy under the heavy comforter. The sun blazed in from the thinly curtained windows, making Danny’s eyes sting despite his attempt to shut them tighter. He groaned and shifted in bed only to have his lower back throb sorely. The half-ghost sighed and shifted back to his original position against a broad chest, which belonged to the cause of his sore backside.

"I feel terrible and it’s your fault," Danny mumbled against the cool skin of a broad shoulder, much broader than his, but Danny was filling out nicely, so soon he might have such broad, manly shoulders.

"Good morning to you too, Little Badger."

Danny dared to crack a single blue eye open against the brilliant sunlight to glare lazily at the man in bed next to him. Vlad Masters smirked and shifted onto his side to put his arm possessively around Danny’s thin waist.

"Morning…?" Danny muttered, rubbing his eyes harshly to try and rid them of his sleep-drunkenness. "Wait, morning!? It’s not morning, is it?" Danny gasped, sitting up quickly and wincing at the pain that shot up his backside.

Vlad sighed and rolled onto his other side, effectively grabbing his cellphone off the side table and handing it to Danny, who flipped it open and sighed in relief. His shoulders lowered and he lay back on the bed heavily, his arm going up over his eyes to shield them from the sun. "It’s only seven in the evening. God, why is the sun still up?" Danny groaned and rolled onto his stomach, pulling a fat pillow over his mess of tangled black hair.

Danny heard Vlad chuckle and then felt the bed shift as the man got up from the bed. "Well, as much as I’d love to laze around naked in bed with you for the rest of the night, I imagine you need to head home soon and you’re most likely hungry. You teenage boys consume you’re body weight in junk food every two hours."

Danny glanced out from the pillow and smiled at the view he got of Vlad’s butt bared to him just before the man pulled on a pair of black pajama pants. Danny watched approvingly as Vlad’s back muscles stretched slightly as he slipped a plain gray turtleneck on. With his silver hair hanging loosely on his shoulders, Vlad looked the picture of relaxed debonair gentleman and Danny for the life of him couldn’t understand how he’d landed such a sexy mulit-billionaire. Who also happened to be half ghost.

Danny and Vlad had long since given up the "arch-enemies" relationship in favor of a mutual understanding, which included Vlad training Danny and staying away from Amity Park, so long as Danny kept Vlad company every once in a while. The mutual understanding soon gave way to friendship and then shifted closer to what they were now. It was such a seamless, almost natural route that Danny hadn’t even noticed it happening as it happened. Danny just really liked spending time with Vlad (now that he wasn’t a sleazy villain), who shared more in common with the teen than Danny had realized. Being around another halfa was liberating in a way as well, since he didn’t have to hide anything, and was able to talk to someone who understood the same difficulties and experiences as him.

It was tough for Danny at first, once he realized the direction the relationship was taking. For one thing, this was _Vlad._ Despite their newfound friendship and mutual attraction, Vlad had been Danny’s parent’s college friend. The man was more than twice Danny’s age. That would definitely cause trouble as well as complications. Also, the history between them was still there, which made trust an issue for them at times. But the major issue for Danny was that Vlad was a man.

Danny had only ever dated girls all his life, the most recent being Sam Manson, one of his two best friends. Even though the two had been broken up for some time, Danny still truly cared for Sam and was still attracted to girls. Never in his life had he looked at another boy and been even slightly attracted to him. So maybe it was just older men. Maybe it was the fact that Vlad was half ghost like him, connecting them with that common link. Or maybe it was just Vlad. Whatever it was, it scared Danny at first, not wanting to believe he was suddenly attracted to men. But he found it _was_ just Vlad for some reason.

Danny smiled into the pillow now, thinking about earlier in the day. It hadn’t been their first time together. That had been about a month ago. Danny had been terrified, but Vlad had been more gentle and kind than Danny remembered him ever being. At the time, Danny had still been trying to get used to dating another man, finding kissing and snuggling awkward. Vlad had thought sex might completely wipe the awkwardness away in one go as well as release some of the pent up sexual urges he knew Danny had as a hormonal teenage boy. And he’d been right. After that, Danny had felt much better with the whole situation. During his first time, he’d seen a nicer side of Vlad. That whole time, he’d put his complete trust in Vlad and Vlad didn’t misuse it. That helped their relationship greatly, as well as removing the awkwardness of it for Danny, because if he could have sex with another man, then he could kiss one just fine.

"Are you getting up, or what?" Vlad called as he exited the room and headed downstairs to the kitchen.

"Yeah, yeah," Danny called weakly, knowing Vlad probably didn’t hear the reply. He sat up and stretched, his back cracking noisily. He threw the covers off his naked body, wincing slightly as he stood to pull his boxers and jeans back on. Vlad had been a lot rougher than he should have this time.

Quickly pulling on his T-shirt, Danny hurried down the stairs, following the smell of burning bread and melting cheese. The walk from the bedroom to the kitchen was a long one in the large mansion. This house was bought after Vlad and Danny finally made their truce, and Vlad had agreed to leave Amity Park alone. He had moved back to Wisconsin and designed this new dream house which, of course, Danny promised not to destroy or have the Guys in White destroy, like the last Wisconsin mansion.

Danny entered the kitchen to see Vlad pouring a cup of juice and placing it on the table. Danny paused in the doorway, watching and smiling at the simplicity of the scene.

Vlad looked up and smirked, arching an eyebrow. "Care to tell me what you’re staring at?"

"Just thinking what a great housewife you make, Vladdie?" Danny mocked with a sweet smile, making his way to the table. Vlad caught the boy’s arm before he could sit and pulled his close until they were chest to chest.

"Oh, is that how you see me? As some woman to cook you sandwiches?"

"No. You also clean," Danny teased with a laugh. Vlad grimaced and leaned down to capture the offending lips but Danny turned intangible, causing Vlad to stumble right through the seventeen year old. Danny snickered and walked through him and turned solid behind him. "What’s wrong old man? Losing your touch?"

Vlad growled, a predatory smile on his face as he turned to Danny. "Don’t you test me, boy."

Danny returned the smirk. "Bring it on, Plasmius. My ass still hurts because of you, so no way am I letting you touch me again."

"Oh?" Vlad arched an eyebrow. "And after all the work I went to cook you such a nice grilled cheese sandwich." He indicated to the counter, where the delicious looking sandwich sat. Vlad always was a good cook. Danny figured he gained that skill from having to cook for himself back in his lonely days.

Momentarily distracted, the young halfa didn’t notice Vlad disappear into pink mist as the real Vlad snuck behind him, wrapping his arms around the boy’s waist and kissing his neck. "Mine," Vlad murmured against the pale skin.

Danny gasped, wiggling in Vlad’s grip. "How did you switch the clone in like that? I barely even looked away!"

"It was always a duplicate, since you walked into the kitchen," Vlad said, trailing kisses up Danny’s neck to his jaw. "I was going to surprise you, but you turned it into a challenge."

Danny wanted to protest and squirm away but he couldn’t help but enjoy the feeling of the man’s cool lips on his skin. He moaned softly as Vlad sucked lightly right under Danny’s jaw, licking and nipping the tender area. "S-stop Vlad. You’re gonna make a mark."

"That’s the point," Vlad chuckled, moving lower to create another mark along the thin neck. "You’re mine, Daniel Fenton. Body and soul."

Danny sighed and tilted his head to the side to let the older man continue, not caring for the consequences, just reveling in the feeling of being possessed wholly. It was an experience and feeling unique to them as half ghosts, something spiritual and physical all at once that only they could understand. Another link that bound them together, that allowed Danny to immerse himself wholeheartedly with Vlad, as though finally finding that last missing piece of your body and soul.

…

"Danny, where have you been?"

"And what are those things on your neck?"

Danny stopped dead in the living room. He had expected his parents to be so fully immersed in some gadget or invention that they wouldn’t notice the hickeys. But apparently no gizmo, ghost related or not (and it was ghost related), could keep parents from noticing their seventeen year old son from entering the house at ten o clock at night with bright red marks running along his neck.

Upon leaving Vlad’s house from the portal, Danny had turned invisible once he arrived at Fenton Works, phasing outside the house to make it seem like he’d arrived home like any normal human kid; through the front door. Now he stood, staring at his parents, his cheeks probably just as bright as the marks.

"Uh, poison ivy," Danny said, scratching at this neck fiercely. He inched towards the stairs as his mother moved forward in concern.

"Poison Ivy!? How did you get poison Ivy? Let me look at it; I have some herbs and ointments in the kitchen that should—"

"Uh thanks mom, but it’s not a big deal. It’s uh, actually for an experiment for school," Danny fumbled, racking his brain for a legitimate sounding lie. He hadn’t thought ahead. "Tucker and I are figuring out the effects of certain plants on human skin. He rubbed some aloe on himself, Sam got stink weed and I got poison ivy. That’s what I get for drawing the short straw, right?" Danny laughed, scratching his neck some more until it felt raw. He was steps away from the staircase.

"That’s my boy, getting involved with science just like his old man!" Jack Fenton exclaimed, buying the lie a lot faster than his mother, who sighed.

"Alright Danny, but if that starts to get worse, I’m treating it, alright?" Maddie Fenton explained, her voice skeptical and her expression concerned. Danny hated lying to them, especially when his mother always pulled the overly-concerned-mother card. But it was either this weak poison ivy excuse or telling them their college buddy had been sucking on his neck like a sex-crazed vampire. The poison ivy was preferable anyway you looked at it.

"Will do, mom!" Danny exclaimed, hurrying up the staircase with a sigh of relief. Every visit to Vlad’s ended like this. He’d sneak off through the portal to Vlad’s, spend some time there and then sneak back home, more often than not to these kinds of questions if he came home on the later side, like tonight. He hated lying, but with the secret of his ghost powers for the last four years, he’d learned to get used to it.

The only real guilt that gnawed at Danny due to his relationship with Vlad was because of Sam and Tucker. They didn’t know about the relationship. Not yet anyway. They thought that whenever Danny flew off to Vlad’s, it was to train. Which it was, half the time. The other half was spent in Vlad’s luxurious bedroom, or on the soft couch in the living room or bent over the shining grand table in the dining room. But he hadn’t exactly gotten around to telling them about that other half yet. Which ate at Danny every day, because they were his best friends, the only people in the world whom he felt he could tell anything to.

So for now, the only people who knew were Danny, Vlad, and Jaz.

Jasmine found out about a month and a half ago when the relationship first started getting physical with kissing and snuggling. Jasmine was a psychology major and read Danny better than he read himself sometimes. It took a lot of convincing and "Please Jaz, you can trust me!" to get her to not tell their parents. She was worried about him, he understood that. But he wasn’t some clumsy little kid anymore. He was a senior in high school, he fought ghosts on a regular basis and defeated great terrors over the years. He could take care of himself. So she’s trusted him, and promised to be there for him to talk, whenever he needed. It was a nice fallback, to know he had _someone_ to talk to about him and Vlad, even if it wasn’t that often with Jasmine at college in Connecticut.

Danny reached into his pocket and took out his phone as he entered the bathroom. He dialed Tucker up as he quickly stripped off his shirt. He turned the faucet of the tub on as his techno-obsessed friend answered the phone. "Heello?"

"Hey Tuck, sorry I’m calling late."

"Dude, where have you been? We were supposed to be gaming on the computer like an hour ago! I was getting creamed without you!"

"I know, I know, I’m sorry. Training went later than expected."

"That sucks man. Vlad riding you hard, huh?"

Danny blushed and nearly dropped the phone into the slow filling tub. _Nice choice of words, Tuck,_ Danny thought. He swallowed the dryness of his throat and said, "Yeah it’s brutal. I’m gonna be sore for a week, so I’m gonna soak for a bit."

"Well at least he’s teaching you all his cool butt-kicking ghost moves. He teach you how to do that technique you were talking about at lunch yet?"

Daniel left the bathroom, letting the tub fill as he entered his bedroom to put his backpack away. "Yeah he—"

Danny cut off as he noticed a figure on his bed. It was small, and human, sitting on the edge of his bed. A little girl. The girl had short black hair, the same color as Danny’s, pulled into a ponytail at the nape of her neck, similar to how her father kept his hair. She turned and looked up at him, her eyes shining the same shade of blue as Danny’s own eyes. She smiled, and it reminded Danny of the smile he saw in the mirror nearly every morning. "Hey Danny."

"Danielle?"


	2. Chapter 2

"Danielle?"

The girl smiled and stood up from the bed. Danny looked at her in surprise. It’d been nearly three years since he’d last seen his sole surviving clone. She looked the same which was strange. It had been years ago that she was "born" and yet she still resembled the twelve year old kid she used to be. Danny, now seventeen years old, was a least a few inches taller than he used to be and had gained slight muscle tone, though he was more lean than muscular. Shouldn’t his clone be having similar growth changes?

"Uh Tuck, let me talk to you tomorrow." Danny said and hung up the phone before Tucker could argue or question it. "Dani!" the older teen exclaimed, smiling at the girl despite her sudden and odd appearance. "How are you? Been enjoying yourself?"

"Yeah, I’ve been traveling around the States a lot," Danielle said with a shrug. "Been kicking serious ghost butt around here?"

"Heh, yeah I suppose so, though not many ghosts bother me around here anymore," Danny said with a slight smirk. Ghosts tended to avoid Amity Park nowadays because 1. Danny was now immensely stronger than most ghosts, and 2. Many ghosts knew he and Vlad were on mutual standings with each other and many ghosts either feared or respected Plasmius, which worked to Danny’s benefit.

"Nice. You’re a big bad ghost boy now, huh?" Danielle commented, walking around Danny’s room, glancing at everything appreciatively. "You’re interests haven’t changed too much." She indicated the NASA poster and Dumpty Humpty CDs littering his desk. "These are new though…" Danielle eyed the football cards and green and yellow jersey scattered near the foot of Danny’s bed. "Didn’t peg you as the athletic type."

"Uh, I’m not," Danny answered carefully, scratching the back of his neck. "It’s kind of a new hobby I got into recently. Strictly watching, not participating." Spending most of his time with Vlad caused some of the older man’s interests to rub off on the young halfa, like the older man’s insatiable love for the Packers. Danny soon grew an acquired appreciation for football.

Just as Danny was going to further question his clone, he noticed her eying his chest with a smirk. "You’ve really been training, I see." He glanced down at himself, realizing he wasn’t wearing a shirt.

"Oh!" He gasped, running into the bathroom to turn off the bathtub that he’d left running. He’d have to take his much needed bath once the issue of his little cousin was dealt with. Danny grabbed the shirt he’d thrown on the bathroom floor and pulled it over his head, walking back into his bedroom.

"So what are you doing back here after all this time?" Danny asked, sitting in the chair at his desk backwards, resting his arms on the back as he watched Danielle scan the room. At this question, the girl finally stopped and looked over at Danny.

She paused before speaking, staring at the floorboards and Danny had a sudden urge to go over to the girl and hug her, similar to what Jaz did whenever Danny came home with a beaten expression.

"My ghost half," Danielle finally said, her voice quiet.

"What about it?" Danny asked. "We fixed it last time you were around with my dad’s ecto-spray."

"It’s still unstable," Danielle said, still staring at the floors. "I think the spray just put me back together when I melted completely, but it quickly overloaded. I can’t transform at all anymore without starting to melt and collapse. It’s terrifying." She looked up, her blue eyes swimming and Danny _did_ stand and go over to her this time.

"Are you okay?" he asked. "You’re human form is still stable?"

Danielle nodded. "For the most part. But…well you know what it’s like. The ghost half is a _part_ of you, one half of you. If you don’t take care of it, or you don’t transform after a while, you start feeling…like a longing." Danielle searched Danny’s face for some kind of confirmation of her thoughts. He nodded. He understood exactly what she meant. If he didn’t turn into Phantom after a few days, he got a little stir-crazy and his powers would start acting up. The two halves of Danny, both Fenton and Phantom, had to be acknowledged.

"I’ve been looking all over for _someone_ to help me; I snuck into college lectures about ghosts and spirits, I’ve visited psychics and mediums, all of them complete quacks, and I even talked to some professional ghost hunters." Danielle sighed. "Nothing. Zak Bagans may be hot, but he knows zero to nothing about real ghosts." Danielle looked up at Danny, her tears gone, replaced by a tired desperation. "I didn’t know where else to go. I’m scared Danny. I can feel the ghost half, I _want_ to transform but I don’t want to…to…"

"I get it," Danny said. "I’m not sure what we can do though; I thought that spray would have helped. My parents haven’t made anything recently that I think would help but maybe we could use some of their equipment…" Danny trailed off as his eyes roamed the room uselessly and landed on the Packer’s jersey. He slapped a hand to his forehead and mumbled, "Oh duh…"

"Huh?"

"Don’t worry Dani," Danny said with a smile, putting a hand on the twelve year old’s shoulder. "I know just the person to help you."

"Really?" Danielle asked, a familiar smile finally breaking over her face.

"Yup. Just leave it to your ol’ cousin Danny."

…

"Danny with an i is back?" Tucker asked as he and Danny left their last class of the day. The two went over to their lockers where Sam was waiting for them.

"Who’s back?" she asked, leaning against the lockers as Danny and Tucker put their stuff away. Sam had definitely changed like a girl should change over the years, unlike Danielle; she’d let her hair grow out though still dyed it black and straightened it every day. She’d gotten her entire left ear pierced and wore a large black military jacket nearly every day—which hid the womanly curves and bumps she’d gained over the years—along with her usual skirt and combat boots. Danny still thought she was the prettiest girl in the school, no matter what she wore or whether they were dating anymore or not.

"Danny’s half-ghost clone cousin created back in Vlad’s psycho days," Tucker informed, not taking his attention away from the locker’s contents. Tucker was the same as always, buying the newest technologies and obsessing over them more than he would his own child. He’d converted to contacts when Valerie Grey told him he looked cuter without glasses in the tenth grade. Unfortunately, sweaters and berets were still the "in-style" in Tucker-land.

"Speaking of psychos, you’re not thinking of taking her to Vlad are you, Danny?" Sam asked, looking pointedly at the blue eyed half ghost.

"You always know exactly what I'm thinking before I said a word, Sam," Danny said with a cheezy grin. Sam flushed slightly but bit back her stutter.

"Seriously? Danny, I’m not too sure that’s such a good idea." Sam folded her arms. "I know you two are ‘buddies’ now or whatever but he’s still Vlad. He was bad once, and he can go bad again if reminded of past schemes."

"He’s not gonna go bad again," Danny said with a wave of his hand as the trio headed for the doors to freedom. "I trust him. It’s been nearly two years since we’ve last fought and almost a year since he’s started officially training me. If he was planning something, he’d have done it a long time ago."

"We _are_ talking about the guy who spent twenty years plotting revenge against your father and attempting to steal your mother, right?" Tucker pointed out, pulling his cellphone from his pocket.

Danny flinched slightly at that. He hated thinking about how much Vlad had hated his father and the terrible things he’s nearly done to his family. He especially hated thinking about how much Vlad used to openly flirt with his mother. Despite Vlad continuously saying he had merely been _obsessed_ with Maddie and that he truly _loved_ Danny, it was still slightly disturbing.

"Don’t worry guys, I trust him and that’s good enough for now. Danielle needs the help."

"Talking about me when I’m not even around… Nice, cuz," Danielle commented, appearing beside the teens as they exited the school.

"Wow she really hasn’t aged at all," Tucker commented, looking down at the child clone.

"Yeah, which is why I need to get fixed. Now! You said after school and it’s after school," Danielle persisted, looking up at Danny.

"Alright, alright," he assented. He turned to his friends. "I’ll text you guys later."

"Alright, see ya man," Tucker waved off, paying more attention to something on his phone than to the conversation.

Sam grabbed Danny’s arm before he could head off. "Be careful Danny." She looked at his face, pleading and concerned. Danny hated this, remembering yesterday’s issue with the concerned-mother face. He wanted to tell her, wanted to tell all of them, but knew he couldn’t. Not now anyway. So for now…

"Trust me," Danny said with a smooth smile. "I’ll be alright." Sam stared at him a few seconds longer and then lowered her arm and nodded.

Danny looked down at Dani, but quickly glanced over his shoulder back at Sam. "By the way, I’m telling my parents that I’m spending the weekend at your house this afternoon while anyway. You know, in case they call." Danny smiled slyly and Sam rolled her eyes with a thumbs up. Danny laughed and grinned down at his cousin, "Come on."

She smiled and nodded, following close to Danny as he ran behind the school to transform in secret. Danielle watched, naked envy on her face as the rings passed over Danny’s body, turning his hair white, his eyes a glowing green and his usual jeans and T-shirt into the black and white jumpsuit. "Don’t worry, you’ll be doing this again in no time. But for now," Danny said, squatting down with his back to Danielle. "Hop on."

Danielle clung to the ghost’s neck and wrapped her legs around his waist. "Ready."

Danny took off, the extra weight barely a hindrance as he took off into the air.

"Where are we going? Is it far?" Danielle asked as they gained height and speed.

"Yeah it’s kind of far," Danny said, reveling in the wind wiping at his face and the cool air around him. He loved flying. "It’ll take some time. But if I go at top speed it’ll cut down, so hold on tight!"

Danielle did as was told and Danny sped up. Within a few hours, they finally arrived in Wisconsin. He would have taken the portal to Vlad’s but then he’d have to sneak Danielle into the basement where he knew his parent’s would be working, and he didn’t want to risk any damage to Danielle by turning her invisible or intangible. So the long way was the only option.

As they flew over miles of trees and land, nearing the large Masters Mansion, Danielle’s grip tightened slightly and she shouted over the rush of wind, "Where are we going Danny?"

Danny’s energy was running low quickly so he didn’t bother to respond, finding it easier to concentrate on getting them to the house.

Finally the castle came into view. Danny sighed in relief as Danielle’s grip was turning nearly constrictive. The duo landed, Danny doubling over to let Danielle off, catching his breath and transforming back to Fenton.

"Phew, that was a trip," he muttered, standing straight and turning around to see Danielle running away from the castle and hiding behind one of the well-trimmed bushes lining the huge drive. "Dani?"

"Why’d you bring me here? I’m not going in there! Take me back to Amity Park!" she shouted at him.

Danny sighed and walked toward her. "Look, its fine. He’s not going to—"

"TAKE ME BACK!" she cried and Danny heard genuine fear in her voice. He cautiously moved towards the bush and peaked over it to see Danielle crouching in the grass behind the foliage, her eyes shut tight. "Please take me back."

"Dani," the ghost boy said quietly. "I wouldn’t have brought you here if I didn’t think it would help you."

"He wants to kill me," Danielle said, looking at Danny with wide eyes. "You know he’s evil, Danny. He thinks I’m just some experiment. He’s gonna melt me down, like he tried last time. I hate him!"

"He’s changed Danielle," Danny said. "You’ve been gone a long time and Vlad and I have made up. We’re not enemies anymore."

"What?"

Danny nodded. "We’re…friends now. And I trust him. He’ll help you."

"No way! I can’t do it; he’s gonna experiment on me!" Danielle shut her eyes again, wrapping her arms around her knees. Danny looked down at the scared little girl, remembering how brave and confident she’d always acted. How has she been taking care of herself all these years? Who has she talked to? The only people in Danielle’s life were Danny and her "father", who had betrayed her all those years ago. It made sense that she’d act this way now.

"Dani." Danielle didn’t look at the older halfa as he knelt beside her. "I know you’re memories of him aren’t the best. And I’m not in any way trying to validate what he did in the past. I’m just trying to tell you that people can change and Vlad has." Still Dani did not look up. "Well if you can’t trust him, can you at least trust me and know that I’d never let anything bad happen to you?"

Danielle paused and then finally looked towards Danny. He smiled encouragingly.

"If anything he does or says makes you scared or uncomfortable, we’ll leave," Danny said with a serious tone and expression. "You can trust me, and I’m not going to put you into a position you don’t like."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Danielle closed her eyes and sighed. "Fine." She looked at Danny with a determined, pointed look. "I trust _you_ Danny, not that old fruitloop."

Danny laughed at the nickname, reminding him that this indeed was _his_ clone, his own self in a matter of speaking.

Danielle smiled and laughed too, standing up and dusting herself off. "Alright. Let’s go talk to my dad."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For any of you who don't know, Zak Bagans is the star of the show Ghost Hunters, and he is indeed hot xD
> 
> Poor Dani has a lot of "daddy issues", as we all know. But trust is key ;) Please comment or leave kudos!


	3. Chapter 3

Danny knocked on the massive mansion door and waited, Danielle standing behind him with her arms folded. _I wonder if I was this stubborn as a kid?_ Danny mused.

It took a few minutes and a few more knocks but eventually Danny heard, "Alright, I’m coming!" from inside the house. In another moment the doors opened to reveal a slightly ticked off looking Vlad Masters, downed in his white embroidered robe and silk black pajama bottoms.

Upon seeing his young lover at the door, Vlad’s mien immediately brightened up. "Daniel! I thought you would be coming from the portal; I was all set up in the living room." Vlad’s smile turned to a smirk as he leaned in close to Danny, his voice a growl. "I had to quickly throw on the robe and pants, thinking it was some stranger at the door trying to—"

Danny quickly cut off Vlad’s sentence by clamping a hand over the older man’s mouth, before said man could say anything else or start chomping on Danny’s neck. Danny’s eyes flicked to the left and his head tilted behind him.

Vlad, catching the hint but put off by Danny’s sudden halt of his flirting, removed Danny’s hand non-too-gently and glanced behind the boy’s shoulder. Danny watched as Vlad’s face went from confusion, to realization, to shock.

"Danielle!"

Danielle glanced up at Vlad, her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Yeah," Danny said, before Danielle could say anything biting or rude, which she would since she was _Danny’s_ clone. "She’s back, and she needs your help." Danny watched Vlad’s face carefully, finding it as familiar as his own nowadays, able to distinguish humor or anger or sadness by simple movements of the man’s lips or eyebrows. Danny watched as Vlad stood up straight and his shoulder’s relaxed. His face took on that calm, bored expression it usually did when Vlad was watching something on television that he thought was stupid; a lazy cockiness to the expression.

"Oh?"

Danny nodded and grabbed Danielle’s hand and dragged her past Vlad and into the large foyer of the mansion, passing all the Packer’s paraphernalia and going into the more modern- styled living room. The two black haired youths sat on the plush couch as Vlad stalked in, his expression still unimpressed.

"Dani came to me yesterday after I got home from your house," Danny began as Vlad stood before them, his arms folded. "She says her ghost form is still unstable." Vlad raised a single silver eyebrow but didn’t comment. "Her form still can’t hold and she starts falling apart. Plus, as you can tell, she’s not aging like I imagine she should be."

Danny glanced at Danielle, who stared at her feet uncomfortably. When he glanced back at Vlad, the man was staring at him as though waiting for him to continue.

"So…well so I brought her here so you could, you know, fix her," Danny finished uneasily.

Vlad rubbed his fist on his chest as though polishing off his nails and then inspected them casually. "And why would I do that?"

Danielle’s head shot up to stare at Vlad in shock and Danny’s eyes widened. "Well…well because she’s…" Danny was going to say _she’s your daughter_ but wasn’t too sure if that would be the proper thing to say right now, so instead said, "She’s in trouble, Vlad. She needs help and you’re the only one who can help her."

"I’ve got a lot of work, Daniel, I can’t start taking up failed experiments again," Vlad said with a flick of his wrist as though trying to ward off a pesky bug. "Plus, if I remember correctly, a certain half ghost team destroyed all my machines that could have been of use." He stared pointedly at Danny who blushed angrily.

"Well make more; you’re always down in your lab doing something! If Dani doesn’t get her ghost half fixed, she could—"

"That’s not my concern; it simply can’t be done," Vlad said finally, but with little apology in his voice.

Danny stood, glaringly hotly at his boyfriend. "What the hell, Vlad? You’re acting like a jerk; you made Dani and it’s your responsibility to help her!"

"Just forget it!" Danielle shouted, standing up and pushing past Danny. "I told you he hated me! He hasn’t changed at all!" Danielle ran as Danny reached out to her. She sped up the stairs, her eyes shut tight.

"Dani!" Danny Fenton shouted before rounding on Vlad. "You ass! Why won’t you help her?"

"Daniel, she’s just a clone. You didn’t feel this bad when my other clones melted into ectoplasm," Vlad said, unfolding his arms and walking towards Danny. He smirked. "Why save a copy when I have the original?" He wrapped an arm possessively around Danny’s waist and pulled him close but Danny easily struggled away.

"Stop it! Danielle was different from those other clones; she has a heart and a mind. Those other ones were mindless and destructive," Danny said. "She’s not just a clone, she’s a little girl and she’s dying!"

Vlad narrowed his eyes and grabbed Danny, pulling him flush against his chest despite Danny’s struggling. Danny fought but Vlad was much taller and much stronger than Danny even with his growth spurt in the eleventh grade and his extra intensive training. Vlad held tight and the younger halfa finally stopped fighting to glare up at Vlad.

Vlad’s eyes weren’t cruel or angry or mocking as they narrowed on Danny, but Danny found himself blushing despite it all due to the intensity with which the older man was looking at him. "Daniel. You’re the only one I care about. You’re the only thing in this entire world that means _anything_ to me now; not money, not revenge, not power, not any experiment or plot,…well maybe the Packers, but you’re number one!"

Danny held the man’s gaze even though he desperately wanted to look away as the embarrassing words poured from the bearded man. "Then do it for _me_."

Vlad’s eyes widened slightly at the words and his grip on Danny’s wrist’s loosened slightly.

"Just like you make an effort to be kinder to my father for me. Just like you stopped plotting in Amity Park for me. And just like you missed the Packers game three Sundays ago to take care of me when I wasn’t feeling well from rounding up stray ghosts out in the cold all night." Danny looked up at Vlad, searching his eyes for the caring, strong, and dedicated man he fell in love with. "Do this for me. Help Danielle for me. She may be just a clone to you but…she’s like a little sister or something. She’s…well she’s _me,_ Vlad."

Vlad paused, a strangle look in his eye, before he sighed softly, leaning his forehead against Danny’s. Danny sighed silently in relief, knowing he’d won the conversation. "She could never be you Danny, even if she is a clone."

"She’s important to me, Vlad."

The older halfa sighed again, closing his eyes. "I can never deny you anything, Daniel. If it makes you happy, I’d do it in a heartbeat." Danny smiled expectantly up at his older lover, who stared into those baby blue eyes and sighed, trying to hold in the smile that threatened to break over his face. "Alright Daniel. You win."

"Like always," Danny boosted with a smirk, leaning away from Vlad. Vlad growled with a smirk and pulled the boy close, kissing his lips feverishly. Danny gasped but quickly leaned up into the kiss, wrapping an arm around Vlad’s neck. Vlad’s mouth opened, licking at Danny’s lips. The kiss quickly got deeper and hungrier; Vlad growling low in his throat as he nearly consumed his young lover.

"Alright, enough," Danny gasped out quietly, pulling reluctantly from Vlad. The man always made his knees go weak and his mind go fuzzy from kissing. It was like a drug. Definitely not healthy. "I’m gonna go find Danielle."

"Fine," Vlad muttered against Danny’s neck, lightly kissing the soft skin, smiling when he heard Danny sigh contently. "I’ll go downstairs to the lab and see if any of the machines I have now might be of any use." He groaned and pecked Danny’s lips quickly before moving away, going intangible and sinking down into the floor.

Danny stood for a moment to straighten his hair and let his heart stop hammering. Damn that fruitloop and his damn kissing.

The teen then moved to the stairs and hurried up to the second floor. "Dani!" he called, looking both ways down the long hallways. Why did Vlad’s castle have to be so huge? The girl could be anywhere. "Dani!!" Danny knew she couldn’t go ghost so she had to be somewhere in sight.

Danny transformed into Phantom and flew through the rooms, finding this easier than running around and physically opening and closing doors. Ghost powers were definitely a bonus when one was in a hurry. "If I were twelve, where would I run to?"

Danny thought for a moment, remembering how Dani used to cause trouble and be a bit mischievous. Danny sighed, but upon hearing a loud "Shh!" coming from the master bedroom, Danny flew in that direction.

He landed before the door and opened it quietly, peering into the dark bedroom. "Dani…?"

Danny spotted the girl standing by the bed. When she heard him call to her, she jumped and spun around, the picture of guilt. "Danny!"

Just as Danny opened his mouth to question her, he saw movement in the bed. There were several lumps under the thick covers and they were moving and bouncing around. "Crooaak. Croooak."

Danny glided towards the bed and threw back the covers.

"Frogs. Really? You couldn’t do something simpler like a bucket-of-water-over-the-door trick?" Danny complained, not too keen on the idea of Dani putting frogs in the bed he and Vlad shared, even if Dani didn’t know he also slept in the bed.

"I didn’t have a bucket," Dani said with a shrug, obviously not too guilty from her casual tone.

"But you had four frogs," Danny questioned but shook his head. "It doesn’t matter." Danny transformed back into Fenton and walked to the other side of the bed to stand in front of Danielle. "What _does_ matter is that I talked to Vlad, and he agreed to help you."

"I don’t want his help!" Dani snapped, crossing her arms. "He’s the same as before; lying and uncaring and a jerk!" Danielle turned her head away and Danny sighed. He still wasn’t good with children. It was definitely a good thing he was born the younger sibling.

"I know Vlad can be…difficult and rude but he _has_ changed. He’s in the lab right now working on some of the machines he has down there to see if anything can be used to help you."

Dani peaked up at Danny, and the older halfa knew he’d convinced her. _So maybe I_ am _good with kids._ Danny thought proudly. _Well I’m good at convincing clone kids and loopy old men but…still an accomplishment._

"Really?" Danielle asked, her voice threatening to drip hope. "Cause I’ve heard that before." Her eyes narrowed skeptically and Danny couldn’t help but laugh.

"I know, but this time I got his word he’d help you."

"Why is he even bothering? What’s in it for him?" Danielle stared up at her older cousin, crossing her arms questioningly.

Danny scratched his neck. He couldn’t tell her it was just to make _Danny_ happy; that was counterproductive. She’d still feel like some experiment to Vlad and she’d probably question why Danny was suddenly so important to Vlad. Though, for the record, Danielle _was_ living proof of Vlad’s obsession with Danny even _before_ they’d started dating, but that was getting too technical.

"Just trust me, okay," Danny said, feeling like a broken record. "He’s turned over a new leaf and feels like he owes a debt, to make amends." Danny smiled, hoping the girl would buy it. "And besides, what do you have to lose? If he helps you, you get better. If he doesn’t help you, you’re no worse off than you are now."

Danielle stared at Danny a few more seconds and then sighed. "I guess you’re right."

"Of course I am; I _am_ the oldest," Danny smiled and started out the room. "Come on. You hungry?"

Danielle smiled and nodded. "Starved."

…

Vlad tilted his neck to the side as he made his way up the stairs. "God, this crick is going kill me all night," he mumbled, rubbing the knot. He usually enjoyed working down in the lab, inventing new machines and experimenting in solitude. It was a nice escape from the mundane work of his factories and businesses in the real world, a chance to make and discover things that seemed implausible but became possible with the help of ghost powers. But these past few hours had been rough on him as he tested old machines, searched for scrap pieces and examined all sides of the bigger machines. It was boring, tiring work but he’d managed to find some helpful equipment and get things ready for the clone.

Vlad sighed as he walked through the large house, really not wanting to go to all this trouble for some failed experiment but he’d promise Danny and he’d do anything for his Little Badger, even something that caused him this annoying pain in his neck.

The silver haired man entered the immense living room to see his young lover on the couch watching TV, Danielle curling up on the other side of the couch, fast asleep. Four empty cans of soda littered the glass coffee table along with a half empty bag of chips and a plate with bread crusts on it.

"You’re finally back," Danny said, sitting up and smiling as Vlad made his way over. "Did you find anything that would…hey are you alright?"

Vlad rubbed his neck and winced. "Fine, just a crick." Vlad leaned over Danny and kissed his mouth tenderly. "Ready for bed?"

Danny smiled into the kiss and nodded. "Just let me carry Danielle to bed."

Vlad turned an annoyed gaze to the sleeping child and reluctantly stepped back to allow the younger boy to stand from the couch. "Fine. Take her to the guest room on the ground floor."

Danny nodded and carefully lifted the girl, cradling her delicately, her head resting in the crook of his neck. Vlad got a sudden pang of irrational jealousy and quickly grabbed Danny’s shoulder from behind and kissed the boy’s cheek. "I’ll be waiting for you upstairs," he purred, kissing Danny’s neck a few times and then moving towards the stairs.

Danny, his face blushed embarrassingly, moved down the hall towards the ground floor guest room. Danny maneuvered his left hand outward to open the door and walked in. The bed was small and the room was furnished plainly if not modernly, but it would be fine for Danielle’s immediate needs. Carefully pushing back the covers of the bed, he laid Danielle down.

"Mmm…Danny…" she whimpered quietly as Danny pulled the blanket up to her chin after removing her sneakers.

"Don’t worry Danielle. You’re gonna get better. I promise," Danny whispered, smoothing the girl’s black bangs from her forehead tenderly, like he remembered Jaz used to do when he was sick in bed, or recovering from a nightmare. "I promise…"

"DANIEL!!" Danny jumped at the sound of his boyfriend’s enraged voice shouting to him from upstairs. As Danny rushed out the room and nearly transformed into Phantom, he heard the loud thumps of Vlad in their bedroom and then the unmistakable croaking of nearly a half dozen frogs chorusing through the halls.

Danny cringed. "Oops."


	4. Chapter 4

Danielle stood almost flush against Danny’s side as Vlad showed them the machine he was able to recover and fix up. It was similar to the old machine Vlad had used to trap Danny and force him to transform in order to get the proper DNA for his "perfect clone", except this one was smaller and much simpler. It was still menacing and cold looking despite Vlad explaining how it’d keep Danielle’s ghost form stable for analysis. Danny shivered, remembering how twisted and menacing Vlad had been back then, doubly grateful for how much he’d changed and given up.

"Alright," Vlad said, his voice all business as he opened up the chamber of the machine. "Get in Danielle."

Dani gripped her older cousin’s hands suddenly, looking up at him fearfully.

"Aw come on, Dani, you’re not scared of a machine, are you?" Danny riled. "I’m right here."

Danielle took a breath and exhaled. She nodded, that familiar determined set to her features back. She allowed Vlad to connect the wires to her skin and stepped into the chamber. Danny watched as her eyes widened when Vlad closed and locked the chamber. He saw her through the glass window and smiled encouragingly.

Danny glanced at Vlad who was typing on the keyboard beside the machine. A few lights on the chamber switched on, a whirling humming coming from the machine. Vlad held down a button and said, "Alright Danielle, transform."

Danielle, who heard the command from the speakers inside the chamber, looked doubtful but nodded.

Danny watched in fascination as the familiar white rings appeared around Dani’s abdomen and separated, her human form disappearing to reveal Dani Phantom.

Dani looked down at her feet and hands, blinking in disbelief before looking up at Danny through the glass and smiling. "It worked!" Danny said with a laugh. "She’s not melting."

"The machine is meant to keep the clones stable until they’re ready to be released," Vlad explained, typing once again, twisting a few knobs slowly. "This is the safest way to find out exactly why her ghost form isn’t being maintained. I had been impatient before, released the clones all too early, which is why they all disintegrated within a few days." Vlad sighed.

"Except Dani," Danny said, smiling broadly at his little cousin. "She was different."

"Hmm, seems so," Vlad said distractedly. He glanced at the girl in the chamber and then flipped a switch on the side of the machine’s body. Slowly a pink gas began to leak into the chamber, fogging up the glass. Dani didn’t have time to panic before her eyes slipped closed and she slumped into unconsciousness, the machine maintaining her ghost form despite her now asleep state.

"Hey! What did you do?" Danny asked, looking to Vlad.

"The machine needs to scan her, analysis the Phantom and record the data. It’s going to be a long process," Vlad explained. He smiled over at Danny. "I didn’t want to wait down here for the next few hours, so instead of leaving her alone, I’m letting her sleep through it all."

Vlad moved before Danny, putting his arms around the boy’s waist. The smirk on his face made blood rush to Danny’s cheeks as well as much lower in his body. "I was thinking…we could entertain ourselves for the next few hours. What do you say, my boy?"

"I say," Danny said, pushing Vlad’s face away from his so he could think straight. "That you’re a very horny old man who needs to focus on the matter at hand." Danny inwardly smirked when Vlad looked affronted. "We have to focus on Dani. I’m not going to go fooling around with you, when she’s alone and unconscious downstairs."

"Aw come now Daniel, parents do it all the time; waiting until their children are asleep and then getting busy in the bedroom." Vlad wiggled his silver eyebrows suggestively, pulling a laugh from Danny. "You laughed, that means yes!"

"What, no it doesn’t!" Danny argued but Vlad had already scooped Danny into his arms and transformed into Plasmius. He flashed his fangs in a toothy grin before flying upwards, fazing through the ceiling of the lab and up two floors and then into the bedroom.

Vlad tossed Danny onto the bed and turned back into Masters. He unbuttoned his jacket, quickly stripping it off and tossing it to the side as he climbed into the bed himself, hovering on all fours over young Danny.

"I’ve been without my little Danny for far too long," Vlad growled as he loosened the red ribbon round his neck, dipping his head low so he could nip at the spot behind Danny’s ear, the spot that always made the boy gasp and melt into putty.

Danny squirmed in embarrassment. "Hey hey! We were just together on Thursday, which was pushing it as it was! I was nearly late going back home, and was interrogated by my folks!"

"Should have been more responsible," Vlad murmured, moving his mouth down the pale neck to the collar of the red and white T-shirt. Vlad growled and grabbed a fistful of the offensive clothing, turning it intangible and throwing it to the ground. "Much better." Vlad continued nipping and sucking at his young lover, quickly moving down Danny’s neck to his collarbone.

"Vlad, I got teased all day Friday because of your damn hickeys! Sam and Tucker nearly saw them! Knock it off with the marking!" Danny protested, shoving feebly at Vlad’s suited chest.

"They’re called lovemarks, Daniel," Vlad corrected, pulling away briefly to smirk that condescending smile down at the younger halfa. "And I mark you because you belong to me."

"Oh really?" Danny said with a raised brow. He arched his back, wrapped his leg around Vlad’s thin waist and flipped them over so he was straddling Vlad on the mattress. "I don’t think so, fruitloop."

Vlad smirked and wrapped his arms around Danny’s neck, pulling him down to meet their lips together. Danny wanted to resist and keep the banter going, but kissing Vlad was just so much better.

He leaned down into the kiss, opening his mouth obediently for Vlad, moaning as the older man’s mouth dominated his, claiming the inside of his mouth with that hot tongue. It was so much easier like this with Vlad; he didn’t have to be the brave hero, coming up with clever one liners or escape plans, or being responsible for the entire town’s well-being whenever there’s even a minor ghost problem. Now when they were like this, Danny was happy to give Vlad the control, to have someone else to lean on and follow.

Vlad’s suit was seriously getting in the way now that Danny was enjoying himself, so he removed the loose red cravat and followed Vlad’s lead, turning Vlad’s gray dress shirt intangible and throwing it to the side. Finally having the skin contact he’d been wanting, Vlad arched up as he pushed down on Danny’s back so their bare chests touched.

Danny gasped and rubbed against the hard body below him, moaning quietly against Vlad’s hot mouth. Vlad’s dull nails raked lightly on Danny’s bare back, leaving light red marks in their wake. Danny moved his hands between them, impatiently fumbling with Vlad’s pants button.

Vlad chuckled and pulled away from Danny’s hungry lips. "So impatient, Daniel."

"Damn right. You started this, now hurry up and finish it," Danny all but whined, glaring weakly at his boyfriend, who merely chuckled and rested his hands on Danny’s waist, right at the waist band of his jeans.

"As you command, Daniel," Vlad said, half-mocking, bringing his hand up behind Danny’s neck to guide the boy’s face downward once more. "Anything for you, my love."

The kiss was slower this time, careful almost, savoring instead of devouring. Danny hummed pleasantly against the cool lips, the beard tickling his own chin. Vlad cupped Danny’s face between his two large hands, keeping the pace of the kiss slow and deep.

Danny moved his hands up to Vlad’s shoulders to keep himself steady, his heartbeat calming down. Danny slowly pulled away and relaxed against the strong body below him, laying his head on Vlad’s broad shoulder. When would he get shoulders like these?

"Thank you, Vlad," Danny said, his voice quiet in the large room.

"For what, my little ghost boy?" Vlad asked, slightly put off my Danny’s much calmer, less lustful mood. The older man, not wanting to give up contact with his young lover, rubbed soft circles at the base of the boy’s lower back.

Said ghost boy hummed at the tender motions, blushing when he remembered how Vlad always teased him for those sorts of noises, saying he sounded like a purring cat. "For helping out with Danielle," Danny said. "If anyone can make her better, it’s you."

Vlad smirked at the flattery, which Danny knew he would. The man may have changed in some ways, but in others he hadn’t. He was still the same narcissist that Danny had met all those years ago. "Can’t argue when you’re not wrong, Daniel."

Danny laughed, tracing his left hand over Vlad’s strong chest, slowly circling one of the pink nipples and running thin fingers down the flat stomach. He felt Vlad shiver lightly and smirked. "You’re growing soft, Vladdie."

"Pardon?"

"You were once such a big bad ghost threat and now look," Danny closed his eyes as he laughed to himself. "Tending to some teen’s beck and call, and assisting a little girl. You’re just a big softie now."

Vlad growled and Danny yelped as he was suddenly flipped and pinned against the mattress, the air pressing out of him as Vlad sat upon his lower stomach. "Soft, huh? Is that what you think, Daniel?"

Danny winced but retained his smirk. "No you’re right, I’m giving you _way_ too much credit. You weren’t much of a baddie back then, just a loopy old cat man. I beat your butt all the time whenever we fought."

Vlad grimaced. "You’ve got a mouth on you today, boy. That’s not going to go down lightly." Vlad leaned in, his mouth against Danny’s ear. "I may belong to you, giving you my very heart and soul at your ‘beck and call’…but never forget, you belong to _me_ just the same." Danny shivered in excitement as Vlad nipped his ear and rocked his hips harshly, grinding his groin against Danny’s.

Vlad laughed breathlessly into Danny’s ear. "Excited already, boy? That was quick." Danny blushed, turning his head away as he began panting, Vlad continuing with the fast pace of his hips. This was getting painful; his pants were way too tight.

"Ah, Vlad, come on," Danny moaned out, moving his hands to Vlad’s pants as he had earlier, finally popping the button open.

"Ah ah ah. You’ve gotten me upset. You’re not getting off easily this time," Vlad chastised, grabbing Danny’s wrists in one of his large hands and pinning them above the boy’s head.

Danny wanted to cheer, especially as Vlad used his free hand to faze off both their pants and underwear, finally having his aching member released from the constricting jeans. Riling Vlad up was too easy, and he was always much more rough when annoyed. Danny didn’t want to be hurt in bed, and Vlad never hurt him, but he didn’t want to be treated like a weak child either.

Vlad instructed Danny to grab the headboard and not let go. Danny did as he was told, blushing fiercely as Vlad spread his thighs. He still felt embarrassed sometimes when he was exposed this way, but he knew Vlad was probably the only person he trusted to be this… _naked_ and vulnerable in front of.

Vlad quickly leaned over to rifle through the bedside drawer, pulling out the small bottle of lube. Coating his fingers liberally, Vlad pressed them into the squirming teen, Danny's moans and pants and pleas echoing throughout the room as he was prepared.

"V-Vlad. I'm ready. Hurry up, fruitloop…" Danny said after a few minutes, his voice wavering and peeling out in a whine. Vlad's fingers touched something in Danny that made his vision go white for a moment. He arched and cried out and begged louder. "Vlad! Please, now! Do it, hurry!"

"Such impatience, my boy," Vlad whispered, staring appreciatively down at his young boyfriend, slipping his wet fingers free and coating his own aching cock with more lube. "So demeanding..."

"That’s w-why you love me," Danny said between pants, smiling cutely up at Vlad and wiggling his hips, as the older man smirked tenderly and lined his groin between Danny’s thighs.

"Yes, I suppose it is," Vlad murmured, leaning down to kiss Danny passionately as he snapped his hips forward, capturing his lover’s moans with his mouth.

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slight spoiler alert for anyone who hasn't seen the movie Kick-Ass xD

Danny groaned as an annoying buzzing chased the dreams away. He thought briefly of ignoring it, but he was already awake. Slowly Danny cracked his eyes open, suddenly conscious of a heavy weight on his chest.

Vlad was half on top of him, his arm thrown over Danny’s torso and the older man breathing down Danny’s neck as he slept. "God, you’re so heavy," Danny moaned, peeling himself away from the older man to bend over the side of the bed where the source of the buzzing was coming from.

Danny bent and picked up the phone just as it stopped vibrating.

"Who was it?" Danny looked over his shoulder at Vlad who, for all the world still looked asleep. The billionaire peeked a steel blue eye open and regarded Danny calmly.

Danny flipped open the phone. "It was my mom, probably just to check up on me." Vlad hummed distractedly and turned over onto his side, pulling the covers up around his shoulders. Danny stared at the back of Vlad’s head, at the pool of silver hair on the pillow and the silhouette of the tall, lean body under the blanket. He remembered when Vlad would have pounced at the chance to talk to Maddie or to have her cell number. Now he regarded her as any person would towards their lover’s mother; lack of serious interest. It was endearing to see how Vlad’s feelings truly had flipped completely, now fully facing Danny only.

The boy couldn’t help the overwhelming urge to crawl over to his lover, so he tossed the phone back on his jeans on the ground and curled up against the strong back. Vlad immediately turned over at the contact, encircling Danny in his arms and pulling him close, resting his forehead against Danny’s, not opening his eyes.

Danny sighed contently, feeling safe and warm wrapped up with Vlad in bed. If he’d told his younger self of three years ago that he felt the happiest lying in Vlad’s embrace, his fourteen year old self would have been disgusted and then blasted him where he stood. Danny frowned, knowing that’s how his parents and friends would react when he told them about him and Vlad; they’d just be disgusted and angry. But as Danny lay under the covers with his ex-nemesis, both wearing nothing but their skin, he couldn’t understand how anything else could be so right.

Danny wrapped his arms around Vlad’s bare torso and nuzzled his nose deeper in Vlad’s chest, inhaling the familiar scent. He sighed. "We should get up," Danny said even though he wanted desperately to just lie there.

"No," Vlad muttered, sounding like a petulant child. He clung to Danny tighter.

Danny chuckled. "We have to check on Dani."

"That brat is constantly getting in the way and she’s only been here a day," Vlad said, his voice husky with sleep. Danny’s cheeks blushed at the sexiness of the thick voice.

"That brat is _your_ daughter," Danny muttered. When Vlad didn’t respond, Danny moved his head to look up at the billionaire. Vlad was regarding Danny with an odd gaze, way too focused for someone who sounded so tired. Finally Vlad sighed dramatically and flopped onto his back, releasing Danny.

"Fine fine," Vlad muttered, sitting up tiredly, scratching his head which worsened the man’s bed-head. Danny chuckled. Vlad hated mornings, especially post-sex mornings. He usually convinced Danny to stay in bed with him until well into the afternoon when the younger halfa could finally persuade the man to get up and rejoin the living world. It was early evening now, only about six o’clock, but Danny knew Vlad probably wanted to stay in bed for a few more hours anyway.

Danny turned to lean over the bed and grab his jeans but felt a pair of strong arms wrap around his waist and pull him back onto the bed. "Hey! Vlad, what are you doing? I said we have to get up!"

"I changed my mind," Vlad said, holding on tightly to his young boyfriend, nuzzling his nose into Danny’s stomach tiredly. "I want to stay in bed."

"Vlad!" Danny squirmed but Vlad retaliated, trailing lazy kisses down Danny’s bare abdomen and lower, until Danny was gasping and blushing, Vlad chuckling internally the entire time.

…

By the time Danny managed to wrestle free from the horny old man, get dressed and drag the irritated Vlad down to the lab, it was well past seven.

"How is she?" Danny asked as Vlad printed the results of the analysis and rubbed the sleep from his dark blue eyes. The older hybrid flipped the switch on the side of the chamber, stopping the flow of the gas to allow the girl to wake up.

"Not sure yet. I have to read the charts and information before I understand what’s wrong. Then I still have to figure out _how_ to fix her once I know what the problem is."

Danny nodded, watching as Danielle slowly stirred in the chamber. Green eyes slowly opened and Danny smiled.

"Danielle, transform back," Vlad instructed through the small microphone.

Dani looked over at Danny, then Vlad, waking up fully before nodding. The white rings appeared and Danielle was human again. The chamber opened and Vlad helped to remove the wires.

"Well?" Danielle asked, stumbling over to Danny. "How’s it look?"

Danny glanced at Vlad who was studying the notes before him.

"Seems there’s molecularly something wrong with the Phantom half," Vlad mused, his eyes moving quickly back and forth across the page. "Some kind of an imbalance when you were created. The ecto-spray that Jack created enhanced the ghost genes in Danielle just enough to recreated her from the ectoplasm but it didn’t fix her; that’s why she’s back to disintegrating. But only in her ghost form…"

Danielle sighed. "So how do we fix the defect?"

"Still unsure…" Vlad muttered, not taking his eyes from the papers. The older man stared at the results, reading intently. Danny recognized that face; Vlad was interested. When something interested him, he plunged into it a hundred and ten percent. This was good.

"So, uh, now might be a good time for dinner?" Danny said, looking away from Vlad and down at Danielle.

"Yes of course." Danny looked over to see Vlad hastily folding up the papers and putting them to the side. "Come, I’ll cook."

Vlad herded the two Danny’s up the stairs and into the kitchen, where they sat at the table as Vlad hurried around the room preparing dinner. Danny realized he was making pasta as the man got out the strainer and filled a pot with water.

"Vlad’s a great cook and his pasta is amazing," Danny whispered to his little cousin. "He uses fresh herbs and tomatoes, with real garlic. Trust me, you’ll love it."

Danielle smiled excitedly and in about twenty minutes, Vlad put two plates on the table before his guests. "Aren’t you eating with us?" Danny said, fork halfway to his mouth before he saw Vlad taking off his apron and heading back towards the lab.

"I’ll eat later; I want to check something out," Vlad said distractedly, quickly disappearing from the room. Danny watched but turned back to his pasta after a moment, happy that Vlad was suddenly interested in helping Dani.

"Wow, this is great!" Danielle exclaimed with a laugh as she dug into the pasta. Danny smiled, shoveling down the saucy pasta in large forkfuls.

"So, what’s up with you and Vlad?" Danielle asked around a mouth full of spaghetti.

Danny nearly chocked. "W-what? What are you talking about, there’s nothing between us, nothing at all! We’re just friends, not even really close friends, more like acquaintances, or student and teacher, totally normal!" Danny rambled quickly, waving his hands in front of him frantically.

"I was just curious how you two, you know, stopped fighting…" Danielle said, eying Danny oddly.

"Oh…"

"Last time I was here, you two were at each other’s throats. He nearly killed me; I can’t imagine what he tried to do to you on a regular basis," Danielle said, twirling the noodles absentmindedly around her fork.

"Yeah…" Danny muttered, gazing distractedly at his food. Memories of the past flooded the boy’s mind, of bloody fights with Plasimus, that smirking face as he explained a twisted plan, all the plots against his father and flirting with his mother. Danny rubbed at his eyes tiredly as though trying to wipe those memories away.

"Vlad and I…just got tired of the fighting. It felt like we were in a rut, going through the motions," Danny said, remembering those days when the two would stop mid-fight from lack of real motivation. "Vlad eventually stopped going after my parents and stopped plotting all together. We declared an ‘official truce’ sometime later and then Vlad started training me. I spend most weekends at his house to train and just keep him company." Danny glanced up at Danielle. "We’ve had a pretty rough start but Vlad was never really evil. It took me a while to realize it, that he was just lonely and obsessed." Danny smiled. "But now that we’re friends, I think he’s a lot happier."

"He still seems pretty moody and selfish to me," Danielle commented, finishing her pasta. Danny laughed and was just about to agree when he remembered something from earlier.

"Oh I have to call my mom back," Danny commented, quickly pulling out his cell phone. He dialed her number and waited not even ten seconds before his mother’s voice came over the phone.

"Danny?"

"Hey mom—"

"Danny where are you?" His mother’s voice was sharp. Danny flinched.

"At Sam’s, I told you I was spending the weekend with her," Danny explained, ignoring how Danielle’s eyebrows rose at his words.

"Well I called her parents yesterday evening because your father needed to borrow your laptop. They said they hadn’t seen you all day; that you weren’t at their house. So where are you?"

"Uh... Mom really I’m—" Danny didn’t get to come up with an excuse before the cell was taken from his hands.

"Hi, Mrs. Fenton," Danielle said into the phone, but it wasn’t her own twelve year old voice she was using. It was Sam Manson’s. "Sorry for the scare but Danny, Tucker and I were out all night and we got back to my house late, so my parent’s didn’t see us come in."

Danny blinked as Danielle winked at him. "Yes, I’m sorry but we’re here at my place now."

Danny reached over and took the phone back. "Yeah so, just tell dad the laptop is in my desk drawer. Alright mom, sorry. I’ll call you tomorrow." Danny closed the phone hastily and sighed. "Okay, how did you do that?"

Danielle smiled smugly, and shrugged. "I learned a lot of tricks over the years." Danny smiled, and put away his phone, but frowned momentarily, wondering what Dani’s really been doing all these years. He glanced at her briefly, remembering how Danielle had been stealing food from the streets last time she was in town. Had she been fairing any better on her own these past years?

"Well thanks," Danny said, standing and picking up both their plates. "I knew you were a cool cousin." Danielle smiled happily, her eyes lighting up from the compliment and her cheeks turning a light pink. It was almost like she hadn’t heard something nice said to her in a long while…

"Uh, hey Dani..?" Danny asked just as Danielle covered her mouth with her hand, attempting to stifle a yawn. Danny sighed and shook his head, deciding to ask Danielle about the last three years another time. "Why don’t you head to bed? You’re probably tired from maintaining your ghost form for so many hours in that machine."

Danielle shook her head and protested like the twelve year old she was. "I’m not tired yet. It’s still early. Maybe Vlad found something."

Danny shook his head as he turned on the faucet and starting washing the dishes. "If he did, he’d have come up here."

"Well why don’t we check? Maybe we could help him."

"It’s best to leave him alone for now, Danielle," Danny said, scrubbing at the dishes and rinsing them under the cold water. "He works better that way." Danny wiped off his hands on the dish rag and turned to the girl. "Don’t worry. Vlad’s smart; he’ll find the problem." Danielle looked up and nodded. "Since you’re not tired, why don’t we go watch some TV or something." Danielle smiled and got up from the table.

"Can we use the theatre?" Danielle asked excitedly.

Danny laughed. "Sure, I haven’t been in there for a while."

The two made their way through the castle and into the huge theatre. It was bigger than Sam’s indoor theatre, with a dozen seats, snack bar, movie theatre-sized screen, and a wall full of movies to choose from. The surround sound was state of the art and little dots of light even lite on the ground along the walls when the lights were down, leading the way to the door.

Danielle happily ran over to the movie wall, searching for something to watch as Danny made some popcorn. The girl finally decided on Kick-Ass. "Isn’t that rated R? You’re twelve," Danny commented with a raised eyebrow when Danielle showed him her choice.

"I’ve already watched it," Danielle said with a shrug. "I like it! Hit-Girl’s kick butt and Kick Ass kind of reminds me of you."

"Really?" Danny asked, having never seen the movie. Danielle nodded.

"He’s just a normal kid who wants to be a hero," Danielle explained. "He doesn’t have powers like you do, but you’re still just a kid who likes to help people." Danielle smiled up at her cousin, who smiled back down at her.

The two sat watching the movie, Danny enjoying himself but still finding it kind of violent for Danielle, even if she _did_ kind of act like Hit-Girl in real life, fighting alongside Danny the last time she was around.

It was actually the first time Danny had really _watched_ a movie in the theatre; usually when Vlad and him were in here, they ignored whatever was playing and made out.

By the end of the movie, Danny stretched comfortably as the credits rolled, having watched the entire thing. "Hey, that was a good—" Danny paused midsentence when he noticed Danielle slumped in her chair, head lolled to the side as she slept. "I knew you were tired."

Danny stood and turned off the screen. Danielle stirred as the lights automatically turned on. "Hmm…? What happened…? Did Big Daddy die yet? I hate that part…" she muttered, rubbing her eye tiredly.

"The movie ended already. Time for you to go to bed." Danny said, standing before the girl.

She looked about ready to refuse but then nodded tiredly. She stood up and was about to leave but hugged Danny around the waist briefly. "Thanks Danny."

Danny wasn’t sure what she was thanking him for at first but she let go and left the room before Danny could ask.

"Oh and don’t even think about pulling anymore pranks on your way to bed!" Danny yelled after her. "Vlad chewed me out last night because of your little froggy revenge!"

The girl’s tired, high pitched laugh traveled back into the theatre and mocked Danny. "Yeah you can laugh, but he made _me_ round up the stupid things and _then_ made me clean all the sheets," Danny muttered, angrily tossing the popcorn bag away in the trash. "Pompous jerk…I was up until like three in the morning!"

Danny folded his arms and glanced down at the floor. "Speaking of the pompous jerk, I wonder if he’s discovered anything yet." The hybrid quickly transformed into Danny Phantom and sunk into the floor. Once in the lab, Danny floated in the air and looked around, quickly spotting the older man seated before a large computer.

"How’s it going, Vladdie?" Danny said, lowering down to hover by Vlad’s shoulder.

The billionaire glanced over and then back to the computer with a sigh. "Not too well, I’m afraid." Vlad rubbed his forehead and groaned. "Just reminds me of all those years ago; I’m running into the same problems and complications as before when trying to create and maintain a perfect clone. She’s got too many bugs."

"You make Dani sound like a computer program," Danny muttered but his mind was wondering back to what Sam had said on Friday, about Vlad being reminded of past schemes. The boy shook his head, clearing the doubts from his mind. Vlad was doing this for Danny, not because the man really wanted to create more clones.

The white rings encased Danny as he changed back to human, falling the remaining two feet down to the floor. "Aw poor Vladdie, so stressed and tense," Danny teased, moving behind the older man and putting his hands on Vlad’s shoulders. "I really appreciate what you’re doing though."

"Danny don’t, I really need to—mm…" Vlad tried to say but was cut off, sighing as Danny dug his fingers into the man’s tense shoulders. Danny smiled but was surprised at how hard Vlad’s muscles were; he must be exhausted.

After a few more moments, Vlad reached up and grabbed Danny’s wrist, pulling the boy around to face Vlad. "You’re teasing me, boy." The smirk was devilish and Danny hated how he blushed scarlet. "I really need to work."

"It’s just a small break…" Danny said with a coy smile, swinging a leg over so he was straddling Vlad’s lap in the chair. Vlad smiled and put his hands on the boy’s hips. Danny moved his hands back to Vlad’s shoulders, massaging the tension and knots from them. Vlad’s eyes slipped closed, his eyebrows knitting together as Danny worked the hard muscles.

"Mmmm…" The noise seemed to leave Vlad’s mouth without his knowing, and it made Danny’s heart leap. He repeated the motion that caused it, digging his thumb at the spot between the base of the neck and the shoulder. "Ahh!"

Danny smiled mischievously at the noises his lover was making, attempting to wrangle them out of him again and again.

Vlad’s eyes opened suddenly and he glared at Danny. "You little brat, you’re enjoying this aren’t you?"

Danny smiled harmlessly. "What do you mean? I’m just trying to make you feel better!" As though to underline his words, Danny kneaded a particularly hard muscle, eliciting a hiss and breathy moan from Vlad, who immediately glared at Danny. Danny’s smile was the picture of innocence.

Vlad’s lip twitched as he tried not to smile, instead quickly leaning in to kiss the guilty boy. Danny wanted to protest, especially when Vlad’s tongue forced its way into his mouth, claiming the dominant role once more. Danny was having fun being the one to make his lover moan and squirm, instead of moaning himself like usual! But Danny was weak to this man, especially when it came to kissing. God, how could such a lonely man have become such a great kisser!?

Danny silently cursed and cheered as he gave into Vlad, moving his arms around the man’s neck and decided that submitting to Vlad was the best way to give the other half-ghost a break from work.


	6. Chapter 6

Danny watched silently, unknowingly holding his breath as Vlad inserted the needle into Danielle’s arm, injecting the bright pink substance before pulling it out. Vlad put down the syringe and then stared at Danielle a moment before nodding.

Danielle took a breath and released it, the white rings suddenly appearing around her and separating, activating the ghost molecules in her DNA to transform her into Dani Phantom. She looked at her feet and smiled, taking a step forward but wobbled. She gasped and Danny went to catch her as Danielle’s left leg literally turned to jelly. Danielle screamed as her leg continued to decompose into green ectoplasm.

"Turn back!" Danny instructed quickly, for Danielle seemed too startled to figure that out for herself.

She gasped and immediately the white rings encased her and turned her back, stopping the melting. She sighed shakily. "It didn’t work…"

"What gave you that impression?" Vlad snapped sardonically, turning away from the two youths to consult his computer. "What went wrong with the mixture, I could swear that…"

Danny watched as Vlad mumbled urgently to himself, his dark eyebrows knitted together and his eyes glowing against the bright screen. Danny looked down to Danielle who seemed hurt by Vlad’s tone so Danny kneeled by her.

"Don’t worry, he’s just tired. He’s been working hard all night," Danny explained. Last night after the brief "entertainment" Danny provided for Vlad in the lab, Danny had tried to persuade Vlad to go to bed with him since Vlad had been working all day. But Vlad had refused, saying he wished to stay in the lab a bit longer to work. Danny had agreed and said not to be too long, but Danny had waited hours in their shared bed upstairs before eventually falling asleep without a fruitloop to snuggle up to. Danny doubted Vlad _ever_ came to bed, or if he did that it was for a brief time because when Danny awoke, Vlad was not there.

Danielle nodded. "Danny I’m hungry. Can we have lunch now?"

Danny laughed. "Man, you eat more than me, I swear! Sure, I’ll make us some—"

"No, Danielle needs to stay down here," Vlad interjected sharply, opening the chamber. "I need to run some more tests and analyze the sermon I put into her bloodstream to understand what’s not taking effect in it."

Danielle groaned but walked over and into the machine, allowing herself to be wired and for the chamber to be closed. Danny smiled apologetically from the glass door, shrugging his shoulders. He was sure Danielle would rather spend a few more hours hungry if it meant finding a cure faster.

Danny watched Vlad work, watched as the man typed on the computer, read some notes, moved to the other side of the lab and mix some chemicals and substances, write stuff down and then go back to the computer as it analyzed Danielle. Vlad was in his ghost form at the moment, finding it easier to move around the lab in such a form since he didn’t have to actually touch the ground or walk around tables.

But even in this state, Danny saw the signs of fatigue and strain that he’d tried so desperately to relieve from Vlad last night. The man needed sleep.

"Daniel, can you go upstairs and work in the training room?" Danny snapped out of his thoughts at the annoyed voice of his boyfriend.

"Huh?"

"You heard me; go upstairs and train," Vlad said, turning his red eyes at Danny and waving his hand dismissively. "You’re just standing around staring and it’s distracting."

"Oh…uh, sorry," Danny said awkwardly. Vlad turned back to his work and Danny silently went upstairs.

Past the main lobby of Packers merchandise, past the endless halls and empty rooms, past the door to the theatre, all the way in the back was the massive training area. Other than in bed or lounging around the castle, this was the main room Vlad and Danny utilized. They never took their romantic relationship into this room though; in here it was strictly business. The way Vlad had spoken to Danny just a moment ago was similar to how he usually ordered Danny around in here.

The room was state of the art; nothing less for the world’s wealthiest half ghost businessman. The room was massive, dozens of football fields wide as well as so high that Danny couldn’t exactly make out the ceiling while standing on the ground, and made of a specialized metal that wouldn’t be damaged by any kind of ecto-blast or Danny’s ghostly wail. Different obstacles could be put out to test Danny’s aim, agility, speed, strength, intangibility, endurance, flexibility, the strength of his attacks, and so on. There were all kinds of traps that could be set as well as lasers that shoot out if you step on a certain tile (the booby-trapped tiles changed every three hours).

Vlad had a sweet set up for sure, way better than anything Danny and his friends had set up in his parent’s lab! And the training did help; Danny noticed how much he’d been improving by how weak other ghosts he’d once considered threats were to him now. It was like fighting multiple box ghosts!

Vlad had explained to Danny that ghosts were stagnant; they can’t age or progress in anyway, which is why they became obsessed with things of their living time; they can’t move past it or grow out of it. That’s why, in order for the ghosts to get stronger, they have to use human resources to fuel their energies like Skulker with his suits and Ember with the chanting, but they don’t stay stronger because it’s not real progression of their strength.

Vlad and Danny were different though, the billionaire had explained, because they were half human. The human DNA that was linked to the ghost genes allowed for them to actually grow stronger, to gain new powers and to age, although the aging process was a bit slower than was technically normal for full humans. _That’s why my shoulders aren’t broad like his yet!_ Danny thought as he remembered the lesson.

Danny stood now in his ghost form in the middle of the training room, wondering what to practice without Vlad here to instruct him. Danny felt a pang of loneliness and something else that gnawed at him, but he quickly shook his head of those feelings. Vlad was busy helping Danielle, which was good. That’s what Danny wanted.

But the more Danny thought about it, the more Danny wondered _why_ Vlad was suddenly so enthralled by the task. Was it merely a new challenge that caught the older gentleman’s interests? Was it his pride that fueled Vlad, the shame of his failed experiment pushing him to fix his mistakes and prove himself capable? Or was it all really just to make Danny happy? But if that was the case, why was Vlad almost pointedly ignoring Danny and sending him away…

Danny shook his head again. _He didn’t sleep next to you one night and got a bit nippy down in the lab. It’s not like he’s been avoiding you for a week. Stop being so sensitive!_ Danny chastised himself.

Maybe its teenage hormones, or young love, or Danny’s own ghostly obsession towards those he loves but the negative thoughts stayed in the back of Danny’s mind, poking and prodding their way to the front of his mind despite his attempts to push them down. It always was hard for Danny to control his emotions.

Danny sighed, sagging his shoulders. "I’ll just give him his space…" Danny reasoned. "Once he’s rested sufficiently, then he’ll be back to normal." Danny nodded pleasantly, proud at what a mature, well-reasoning adult he was turning into!

"Alright, time to get serious!" Danny said, smirking as he gave a command to the training room’s computer. Instantly, twenty realistic holographic clones of Dash Baxter surrounded Danny, all of them taunting and laughing. Danny smirked; this was always his favorite exercise to improve his aim, not so much useful for ghost fighting but a great stress reliever.

…

After showering (which once again was something that Danny had yet to do in this castle without Vlad beside him), Danny decided to head down to the lab. Danny had been tempted to put on Vlad’s custom made Packers Jersey and _nothing else_ to get the man’s attention and bring him to bed for some well needed sleep, but decided against it when he remembered Danielle was down there as well. How awkward would that have been…

So Danny pulled on his old jeans and T-shirt, which Vlad complained about more often than was necessary, begging Danny to dress more "presentably". Danny was seventeen and would dress accordingly, not like some stuffy filthy-rich businessman.

The ghost boy headed to the lab, quickly noticing Vlad in relatively the same state he’d been in before, rushing around and examining things, mumbling to himself. Danny figured Vlad would just send him away again, seeing as Vlad hadn’t calmed much, so Danny silently retreated back upstairs.

Upon leaving the lab, Danny paused in the private study where the entrance to the lab was. He glanced at all the books lining the walls, wondering how much of them Vlad had actually read. Most likely all of them; Vlad was very literate and smart. Danny had enjoyed reading when he was younger but once he gained his ghost powers, he hadn’t had much time for leisure reading.

The boy walked around the room, scanning the books for something that might be interesting to read. Most of the books were science books, paranormal studies, bimolecular nonfiction, alternate universes and hidden worlds theories. There were some classics like _Frankenstein_ and _Les Miserables;_ Danny noticed that _Dracula_ looked well read and chuckled.

Deciding he was too restless to read, Danny made his way towards the kitchen to make himself a snack. He felt kind of bad for eating without Danielle but decided Vlad would make her something once they were done. So Danny constructed a sandwich, grabbed some lime and vinegar chips and sat at the table.

Glancing at his phone as he ate, Danny saw that it was nearly five. It was Sunday, meaning school tomorrow and his parents didn’t like him arriving home late on Sundays. He’d have to go back home soon. Danny sighed, feeling as though he’d hardly seen Vlad all weekend.

_God, stop being so clingy!_ Danny thought angrily, knocking his knuckles on his forehead. _He’s working! His life doesn’t revolve around you, especially when you asked him to do this!_

Danny put away his plate and the chips. He went back to the bedroom and grabbed his backpack, making his way back down to the lab and quickly spotting his boyfriend.

Vlad wasn’t running back and forth or talking to himself. Plasmius stood before the chamber, motionless, staring at Danielle who was in her ghost form, asleep. Vlad’s red eyes were steady, his expression unfamiliar to Danny.

"Hey, Vlad…?" Danny called hesitantly, not wanting to bother the man.

Vlad’s head quickly turned and he regarded Danny with surprise. "Daniel!" Vlad’s eyes moved to the backpack on the boy’s shoulders. "You’re heading home now?"

"Yeah, it’s getting close to six and mom and dad like me back by then," Danny explained offhandedly, looking away awkwardly.

"Alright." Vlad said, not taking his eyes away from the boy.

"Is Danielle going to wake up soon?" Danny asked, wanting to say bye to her before leaving.

Vlad shook his head. "It will be a while yet," the blue skinned ghost explained. "Better leave now; I’ll tell her you said good bye."

Danny nodded. "And make sure to feed her once she’s done!" Danny chastised with a soft smile.

Vlad retuned the smile warmly, which looked off on his vampiric features. "Of course."

Danny transformed into Phantom and walked towards the portal, pressing his thumb to the scanner. Danny had access to the only two working ghost portals in the world. Vlad had added Danny’s genetics to the machine a while back incase Danny needed to use it to come or go from Vlad’s house without Vlad’s prior knowledge. It was the ultimate sign of trust between them.

Vlad walked over to Danny and kissed the top of his white head. "I love you Daniel. I’ll be here working if you need me."

Danny paused but then nodded. He was just about to lean up and kiss Vlad on the mouth when Vlad turned away, gliding back towards his computer, Danny all but forgotten.

Phantom sighed and flew through the open portal, passed the vast emptiness of the ghost zone, passed the millions of doors and hidden crevices. The ghost zone was all too familiar to Danny now, no longer as scary or mysterious as it once had been. It was still cold and massive, but Danny could _almost_ feel at home here in his ghost form, or at least feel semi-comfortable flying around.

Quickly finding his parent’s ghost portal and thanking silently that it was open, Danny turned invisible and entered his home, flying silently passed his working parents, scowling. _What’s with these adults and working tirelessly in their labs?_ Danny thought slightly bitterly, then remembering how the three used to be friends in college. That was how they got along so well…they’re three of a kind.

Danny flew up to the first floor and transformed back. He opened and slammed the front door, calling out, "Mom, Dad, I’m home!" and then running up to his room, closing the door behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the books I chose to briefly include have (kind of obvious) meaning.  
> Frankenstein- Dani is technically a creation of Vlad's, Vlad being almost like an "evil scientist"  
> Les Miserables- my favorite book ever, as well as Vlad being such a miserable sack most of his life  
> Dracula- Vlad's general appearance ;)
> 
> Hope you enjoyed and as always, kudos and comments please!


	7. Chapter 7

"So how’s your little cuz doing, Danny? Is she all better yet?" Tucker asked at lunch, the three of them seated in the farthest picnic table.

"Not yet," Danny said. "Vlad’s still working on a cure."

"You left her alone with him?" Sam asked, her expression concerned.

"Oh come on, guys. I keep telling you, he’s not going to do anything bad. He’s changed," Danny assured, though for some reason his stomach flipped oddly.

"I think we should have a meeting with Plasmius, the four of us! Then we’d get to decide for ourselves if he’s truly changed or if Danny’s just been brainwashed," Tucker said matter-of-factly. Danny knew he was half joking but he still glared at Tucker.

Danny had wanted to do something like that, spend time with his friends _and_ boyfriend so they could realize Vlad’s alright. But something about the situation seemed weird to Danny; maybe it was the fact that Vlad and his friends were so… _different._ They were like two different worlds, worlds Danny kept apart from each other; his normal life and his ghost life. Even though both his friends and Vlad had crossed into the two worlds more than anyone else, they still felt separated in Danny’s mind. Not to mention how awkward it would be since they didn’t know he and Vlad were dating. Danny decided this whole "meet up" would have to happen _after_ Danny told them the truth, to avoid any strange situations and more lies.

"I don’t know Danny. Vlad may seem nice while he’s training you, but it’s not like he’s really you’re _friend,"_ Sam commented. "You can’t really tell how much he’s change if at all just because he decides to help out a bit, which by the way, he’s offered before when he was bad. Who knows what he could be planning?"

Danny scowled, getting annoyed at all the poking against Vlad. He wanted so badly to tell them all the promises Vlad made to him, all the sacrifices the man did for him, all the secrets they told each other, all the nights they spent vulnerable in each other’s arms, how much Danny trusted and _loved_ Vlad that it hurt to think about at times.

But he couldn’t. He had to keep lying to his best friends.

"So Tuck, who are you taking to the prom this weekend?" Danny asked, pointedly ignoring Sam’s comments and concerns.

"I haven’t told you!? Allison got back to me the other night and said yes!" Tucker exclaimed. "Later is better than never."

"Odds are she got dumped by her date and went to Tuck as rebound," Sam whispered with a smirk, making Danny laugh.

"Hey, that’s not true! I think Allison really likes me!" Tucker defended. "She’s really smart and once said my beret was ‘geek-chic’ but in a really cute, flirty way. Plus, she’s a cheerleader!" Tucker sighed happily. "My dream has finally come true…"

Danny laughed and looked to Sam. "And who asked you?"

Sam blushed and looked anyway, tucking a stray black hair behind her ring studded ear. "Uh well, a few guys. Some were cute I guess, and a lot of them _really_ wanted to go with me," Sam said, glancing at Danny with a nervous smile.

"Oh yeah? So who’d you say yes to?" Danny asked, returning the smile. Danny’s stomach twisted, but not because he was jealous; nothing like that. Once the two broke up and decided it was better to be friends, Danny stopped seeing Sam in an awkward ‘do I like her?’ kind of way, but as more of a sister-brotherly way. He loved Sam very much, the same way he loved Tucker and Jaz and Danielle and his parents. He wanted to make sure she was happy and he was going to be protective of her, depending on who she was going with, like he’d been with Jaz and Johnny 13. So it was okay for him to be curious and a little nervous.

"Well…no one actually…" Sam began, her voice careful and her violet eyes looking at the salad before her.

"No one? The Prom’s this Saturday!" Danny exclaimed.

"Yeah well, I was thinking maybe…I don’t know, I was hoping—"

"Hey Fenton!" Danny groaned as Dash made his way over. "You and Manson gonna try to win the crown; Geek King and Goth freak queen?" Dash laughed and walked off with his friends, their new senior letterman jackets hugging their receding backs despite the warm weather outside.

Dash was still an idiot, still all muscle and no brain. But since Danny had improved his human self as well as his ghost self with Vlad’s help _and_ had the brains of two science majors, Dash quickly stopped physically picking on Danny who was now not that much shorter than Dash, as well as held back a bit on the verbal rants. Although every now and then he got his bullying out, like now.

Danny sighed. "Speaking of which, who are _you_ going with, Danny?" Tucker asked around a mouthful of burger.

"No one. I’m not going," Danny said offhandedly, sipping nosily from his milk carton.

"How come?" Sam asked, her expression odd.

Danny shrugged.

"But didn’t you already buy a ticket?" Tucker asked.

"Yeah, like four months ago," Danny said. "This week’s going to be busy with Danielle around as it is. Plus I haven’t gotten a suit or a ride or anything. I just kind of forgot about it..." Danny scratched his neck uneasily. Prom had seemed fun at first, a cool way to hang out with his friends. But Danny quickly realized the prom was primarily something for couples. Yeah friends can go, but if you’re friends all have dates, those friends are going to be spending most of their time with those dates. Danny decided it wouldn’t be as much fun as he’d thought, especially since he couldn’t take the only person he’d want to be his date.

Danny couldn’t help laughing briefly at the idea of arriving to the prom in a huge fancy limo and walking out, he and Vlad in Armani suits, hand in hand and moving to the center of the dance floor and slow dancing romantically. Danny Fenton and the past mayor of Amity Park; he could already hear the ridicule and news reports as well as the police sirens. Not a good idea but a funny thought.

"It’s not a big deal," Danny said with a shrug as the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. "You guys enjoy yourselves this Saturday."

Danny turned to leave, taking Tucker’s shrug and Sam’s nervous expression as signs that they wanted to say more but held back.

…

After school, Sam drove Danny home since she was the only one able to afford her own car right now, Tucker rambling on about some new game from the back seat.

Danny stared out the window, his mind thinking about Vlad, wondering if he’d made any progress with a cure. Danny had glanced at his phone throughout all his classes but no texts. Nothing must have been wrong then at least, but that still meant that Vlad was too busy with Danielle to bother to talk to Danny. The teen’s heart clenched again, making him yell internally at himself.

When the car pulled up to the side of Fenton Works, Danny quickly thanked Sam, said good bye and hurried out the car and into the house.

Danny had barely opened the door when a small metal ball hit Danny in the cheek, sticking to him like a tick and blinking red.

"Oh sorry son," Jack Fenton said as Danny stepped into the house and tried to peel the device from his skin. "It’s my new Fenton ghost tracker. Once I release it, it latches on to the nearest ghost and emits a signal that only humans can hear. That way we won’t lose the little guy if he disappears."

Danny noticed his mother flinching as Jack removed the device with Danny’s cheek by deactivating it. "But that sound is monstrous; bring the frequency down a few octaves, Jack." She explained. Danny was happy he wasn’t able to hear the apparently annoying noise.

"Will do sweetcheeks," Jack said, adjusting something on the remote of the device. "I just don’t get why it attached to Danny. These dang machines are always doing that…"

"Just keep working on it dad. I’m sure you’ll fix it," Danny said, moving around his parents casually to try and make a break for his room. "I’m going to go upstairs and study, alright?"

Danny hurried upstairs and into his room, closing the door before his father could release the prob again and have it stick to Danny a second time. Danny sighed, hating that he has to make his parents feel like their inventions don’t work; they were always spot on!

Danny took a step into his room and then paused, when he noticed something on his bed. "What the…"

"Surprise!" Maddie and Jack exclaimed, bursting into Danny’s room behind him. "Do you like it?"

Danny stared before him, at his bed. Lying neat on his comforter was a brand new suit, still in the bag, complete with a red vest and tie, and shining new black loafers on the ground. "Uh…"

"It’s for the prom!" Maddie explained. "We know you have that old gray suit but you don’t fit in it anymore, so we thought instead of renting one, this would be the perfect time to buy you a new suit. Do you like it?"

"It’s…"

"Aw I remember Jazzypants when she was going to her senior prom," Jack said, sniffling as a tear welled in his eye. "She was so beautiful!"

"Of course, you’re going to have to try it on and get it tailored but it’s nice right?" Danny’s mom continued on, looking at Danny expectantly.

"Cost your mother and me quite a pretty penny, that of course we took out of your college fund," Jack said as though he were proud of the fact.

"You guys didn’t have to," Danny began uneasily, eying the garment as though it were a wild animal that might suddenly snap. "Really…"

"It’s no trouble, son. Prom is an important day for boys as well as girls," Jack said, putting a hand on Danny’s shoulder. "You’ve got to look your best, because you never know if the girl you’re taking is the girl of your dreams."

"I’m pretty sure that’s not the case," Danny mumbled but his parents didn’t hear.

"Speaking of which, we know you’re supposed to match you’re suit with the girl’s dress but we figured Sam is going to where black so some pop of color on you wouldn’t be a problem," Maddie said with a smile.

"What? I’m not going with Sam," Danny said, looking at his parents.

"You’re not?"

"We broke up, remember?" Danny sighed; these two never listened to him. "And besides, I’m probably not even going to the prom…"

"What?" his parents exclaimed in unison. "And why not?" his father asked.

"Well, I just don’t really feel like it anymore."

"Is this because Sam is taking someone else?"

"What? No! That doesn’t—"

"Look son, it’s okay to go to prom alone," Jack said, putting a parental arm around Danny’s small shoulders. "It’s okay to be single and go with your friends; heck no girl would go with me in high school so I had to take your Aunt Carly."

Danny groaned.

"It’s okay to go by yourself Danny. Don’t let that stop you from going and having a good time!" Maddie said with an encouraging grin. It just seemed pitying to her son. "It’s not the end of the world. Your father and I didn’t meet until college and look at us now! You’re lucky girl is out there."

"Look, I’ll have you know that I already have--!" Danny cut himself off midsentence, realizing just in time what he was about to admit. "…That I already…had a girl ask me but I said no." Danny finished lamely. "I’m not feeling up to it is all."

"That ticket and the suit cost a lot Danny, so you’re going," Jack said sternly. "Even if you said no to Sam." Danny groaned at his father’s one track mind.

"Fine, I’ll go! Can I please be alone and study now?" Danny asked, turning on his parents, who nodded, grateful it all was settled to their favor. "Good." Danny herded them out of his room and, as his guilt kicked in against his teen stubbornness, he mumbled, "Thanks for the suit..."

He saw his parents smile as he quietly closed to door, leaning against it a moment to breathe. Great, now he _had_ to go to the stupid prom. Or at least lie and _say_ he was going, which was just more lies.

Danny put the suit and shoes in the closet and sat at his desk, actually deciding to study to get his mind off of the prom issue.

For about an hour Danny struggled with English, slugging threw _Catcher in the Rye,_ not actually reading the words his eyes were scanning. Finally, after only getting three of the ten questions he needed to get done, his parents called him down for dinner.

Danny dragged himself downstairs and sat at the table as his parents rambled to each other about how to fix the tracker. Danny was grateful for their discussion and ignoring of him so that he could eat and go back to his room quickly without them questioning and pressuring him anymore.

Danny finished, put away his dishes and went back to his room, sitting at his desk. He stared at the book but decided against it, unable to focus his mind enough for reading. Instead he took out his Stats homework, but despite Danny doing pretty well in math, the numbers and letters before him jumbled together. He couldn’t focus.

He glanced at his phone. No missed calls or text messages. Danny couldn’t help leaning back in his chair, wondering what Vlad was doing now. Still working on the computer? Mixing and trying out different serums? Staring at the chamber like he had been when Danny had gone to the lab to leave? Cooking for Danielle like Danny had reminded him?

Danny’s heart ached for a moment as he pictured Vlad moving about the kitchen in his apron, preparing a meal without Danny present. Danny groaned. He’d been the center of Vlad’s focus for their entire relationship that the thought of Vlad being kind and doing things for someone else made Danny uneasy. He needed to relax.

But whenever Danny moved his thoughts from envy and loneliness, they went back to his conversation with Sam and Tucker about Vlad, how he could be plotting something and that it wasn’t safe to leave Dani with him. Was Vlad really doing what was best for Danielle? Was he going to use different methods with Danny gone, ones that might hurt her? Would he start thinking about new experiments, get ideas for better clones…?

Danny shook his head. Why couldn’t he think positively!?

"Ugghh!" Danny groaned, leaving his desk and flopping onto his back on the bed. He didn’t turn over and bury his face in the pillow, or pull the blankets around him; without Vlad’s scent on them, they wouldn’t cause any kind of comfort.

Danny pulled out his phone and glanced at it. He wanted to call Vlad, but he couldn’t tell these thoughts to Vlad. Admitting he had doubts would break the trust they’d worked so hard to build. He couldn’t call Sam or Tucker, who were usually his go-to people when he needed to vent or talk things out, because they’d just repeat what they said at lunch and on Friday.

So instead, Danny flipped open the phone, scrolled through his contacts to the one person he could talk to right now and pressed send, hoping that she wasn’t in class right now.

One ring. Two rings. Please pick up. Three rings. I need to talk to _someone._

"Hello?" Jasmine Fenton said after the fifth ring, allowing Danny to release the breath he’d been holding.

"Hey Jaz," Danny said, still lying flat on the bed and talking as calmly as he could.

"Hey little bro! Haven’t talked to you in a while. How are you?" Jaz asked and it made Danny happy to hear the smile in her voice, telling him that she was happy to talk to him.

"Alright, just finishing up some homework for class," Danny said, glancing at his desk. "Nothing as bad as what you have to do in college I imagine." He laughed when Jaz agreed and ranted about all the work she had to get done for one of her psych classes.

"I hear prom’s this week," Jaz commented. "Mom told me," she added before Danny could ask. "Do you like the suit they picked out?"

"It’s nice," Danny said carefully. "Expensive too, it seemed. Though not exactly as bad as some of the suits Vlad tries to buy for me." Danny held his breath, still finding his heart pounding nervously and with embarrassment when he talked about Vlad, especially when talking to his big sister.

Jaz paused. "How is Vlad? And you two? Still…okay?" She was hesitant but not awkward which Danny thanked quietly. She wasn’t judging him; she was just being careful as any sister would be towards her little brother’s relationship. Careful and protective.

"He’s good. Been busy with…work lately," Danny added with a brief pause. He sighed, unable to hold it in now that the words were on the tip of his mouth. "He’s…well he’s been really busy and I’ve been getting, like, jealous sorta, which is weird. I don’t know, I feel like an idiot." Danny mumbled, unable to properly say what his heart was feeling.

"He hasn’t been spending time with you?" Jaz asked. Danny nodded and then verbally confirmed.

"Well…there’s this…ghost…" Danny began. He had never told Jaz about Danielle, not really getting the moment to fill Jaz in on _every_ ghost adventure she’d missed. "It’s a little girl that I had saved when I was younger. She’s not feeling well so I brought her to Vlad to see if he can help her. He didn’t really want to at first but now he’s almost ignoring me to work on fixing her, which I appreciate but…god, I don’t know."

"Danny, it’s alright. You love him and anytime he pays attention to someone else more than you, you’re going to get a little jealous. It’s normal, especially since you’re still young," Jaz explained. "At this age, getting attention and recognition from those you care about is important. And for those in romantic relationships, it’s especially important for most people to have their partner’s attention. You’ve always been an emotional kid anyway, Danny." Danny listened quietly, feeling better with Jaz’s official talk making everything sound normal and expected.

"Alright, thanks Jaz," Danny said when she finished.

"No problem Danny," Jasmine said. "Don’t worry too much. But if it continues and it still bothers you, just talk to Vlad about it." Danny nodded but caught himself again and thanked her outloud.

"Oh…" the black haired teen said, turning onto his stomach. "There’s something else. Sam and Tucker…they mean well, but they keep saying Vlad’s going to like…turn bad again. And he’s not! I trust him and I know he’s really different now but…" Danny sighed. "They keep putting these doubts in my head. I hate lying to them, I just want to tell them about us. Them and mom and dad."

Jaz didn’t speak for some time, making Danny look at his phone to check it was still on.

"Danny, if you really trust and love Vlad, you shouldn’t have to be embarrassed or scared about it," Jaz eventually said. "If you have no doubts, then you should be able to tell your friends and mom and dad. I know the situation is a bit more complicated but…you told _me_."

"You kind of figured it out," Danny mumbled, still unsure how Jaz had guessed back then.

"Every time you came back from training with Vlad, you were extremely smiley and you’re lips were bright pink," Jaz said pointedly, her voice on the edge of reprimanding. "It wasn’t that hard to figure out. Mom and dad thought you had lied about you and Sam breaking up because they noticed you coming home like that, but they thought you were at her house. Only I knew where you were really coming from."

_That explains why mom and dad thought I was going with Sam to the prom…_ Danny thought mildly, slapping his own forehead for being so transparent.

"Anyway, if I can accept it, you know Sam and Tucker at least can accept it as well," Jaz finished.

Danny thought about it and figured she was right. They were his best friends. Danny was going to comment when he heard a noise on the other end of the phone and voices in the background. "Is someone there?"

"Just my roommate," Jaz dismissed but Danny blushed at the idea of her roommate overhearing Jaz giving her little brother relationship advice.

"Alright well thanks for listening to my rants, big sis," Danny said casually. "You’re the best."

"Don’t mention it, Danny. I’m always here for you, even if I’m nearly across the country," Jaz said with a laugh. "Call again, little brother."

"Will do. Love you, Jaz."

"Love you too, Danny." The line dropped and Danny closed his phone, feeling better after releasing his thoughts to someone and getting reassurance back. He sighed and allowed himself to breathe more easily and relax into the bed, closing his eyes.

The sun eventually started setting, darkening the room slightly. Danny put the phone on the bed and got up, ignoring the work on his desk and moving to his closet to change into something comfortable for bed. He found some pajama pants, but as he searched for a T-shirt, he noticed the Packers Jersey still lying on the ground.

Danny picked it up and pulled it over his head as a chime went off in his room. The boy quickly pulled his head through the neck hole and raced to his phone.

1 new message.

Danny opened the phone and smiled, his heart racing.

Hey Little Badger

Danny quickly turned off the desk lamp and hopped into bed, sending a reply.

Hey Fruitloop, how’s it going?

*sigh* No progress so far, but Danielle’s being a trooper about it. Just had dinner.

Danny tried to block out the image of Danielle and Vlad sitting together for dinner. Alone.

Good glad you’re eating

I miss you.

Danny’s heart fluttered and he couldn’t help the stupid grin.

Miss u 2. Couldn’t visit 2day from 2 much homework but I’ll come by 2moro.

It wasn’t a complete lie.

Great! I’ll make your favorite dish for dinner, put Danielle to bed early and then we can tangle limbs in our own bed ;)

Danny blushed, knowing he’d have to erase this conversation from his phone tonight.

Sounds painful. Can’t we just have sex instead?

LOL

The sound of Vlad’s laugh filled Danny’s mind, making him smile. He lay down under the covers, resting on his side as he sent his reply.

I hate sleeping at home now thnx 2 u :P the bed is 2 cold

The bed does feel warmer after pounding you into it, I do admit that. Now I have to freeze all alone in this large bed.

Danny blushed darker. This guy acted like a gentleman but he was so vulgar! Danny turned on the camera and flashed a quick picture, checking to make sure it looked alright. It was a photo of Danny lying on his side, his head on the pillow as he smiled softly, his blue eyes bright in the dark. He sent this message with the picture:

There, now you’re not alone in bed anymore.

The reply picture that Vlad sent back made Danny quickly look away from the phone, his face the shade of a tomato. Damn him! Danny went to quickly delete the picture when he saw a second picture had been sent.

Cautiously Danny opened the message, smiling when he saw Vlad’s smiling face, his silver hair loose as his head rested against the pillow. Danny blushed lightly, reading the text beneath it.

Love the jersey. I love you, little badger. Good night.

Danny sighed and replied:

I love you too, Vlad. Good night, you pervert.

LOL

Danny smiled and opened the picture message again—the second one—and lay it beside him on the bed, imaging Vlad doing the same with Danny’s own picture. He lay quietly, staring at the picture, imaging Vlad beside him, smiling at him and thinking of him.

Vlad loved Danny and always would, even if he was busy, even if they were apart. Danny just needed to trust him.

The boy’s eyes slipping closed, smiling to himself with his boyfriend lying quietly beside him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh, so cheesy and fluffy -.- I can't believe I wrote this...ahaha xD oh well!


	8. Chapter 8

Danny hurried through the day, paying half attention to the lessons, half listening to his friends conversations, rushing home, almost skipping dinner (his parents were too busy in the lab anyway) and half finishing his homework. The rest could wait till later. 

“Hey, mom and dad, can I go over Tucker’s for a bit?” Danny asked, standing on the bottom of the stairs of the lab, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

“Did you finish all your homework?” Maddie asked, not looking up from the machine she was welding, her mask and goggles covering most of her face.

“Uh huh,” Danny said, glancing at the opened ghost portal.

“Did you finish all your chores?” Jack asked, looking over at Danny with a stern stare.

Danny didn’t meet his dad’s eye. “Yup.”

“Alright then Danny. Just be back by ten.”

“Thanks guys!” Danny said, hurrying to the top of the stairs and transforming quickly. He turned invisible and flew over his parents’ head and into the ghost portal.

“Did you just feel something?” Jack asked aloud, looking around and then shrugging.

In less than fifteen minutes, Danny found Vlad’s portal. The ghost boy smiled. Last night’s texting session had brightened Danny’s mood considerably and he was eager to see his boyfriend. Vlad would probably take some time out today to spend with Danny, even if only briefly.

The ghost portal was open so Danny flew right in, and upon entering into Vlad’s lab, he saw a strange sight. Plasmius was leaning against the lab table with Danielle standing before him and both were laughing. Danny lowered to the ground, staring at the pair oddly.

“Hey, what’s going on?” Danny asked, walking towards them.

“Danny!” Danielle exclaimed, rushing over and hugging her older cousin. “Vlad and I were just talking about some of the tests we went through today. He says he might be getting closer to fixing the problem.” 

The words immediately erased all confusion or suspicion or doubt, replaced with immense relief and joy inside Danny. “Really?”

Danielle nodded and looked back at Vlad, who smiled and walked over. “That’s right, my child,” Vlad said, ruffling Danielle’s hair affectionately, eliciting a twinge in Danny’s happiness. “We’ll see how it goes once preparations are done.”

“Well that’s great!” Danny exclaimed, glancing up at Vlad appreciatively. “You have been working hard, so it was only a matter of time.”

Vlad returned the smile and then said, “Oh, we already had dinner, Daniel. There’s still some left upstairs, help yourself.”

Danny opened his mouth to say he’d already had dinner at home but Vlad looked down at Danielle and, putting a hand to her shoulder, led her toward the computer, discussing about testing and experiments, laughing a bit and all but ignoring Danny.

The ghost boy sighed and floated up through the ceiling and through the walls until he was in the living room, ignoring the food in the kitchen. 

Danny plopped on the couch, transforming mid-fall back to human and flicked the TV on. Danny kept the negative thoughts from surfacing and any of the odd twinges, focusing on the news of getting closer to finding Danielle’s cure.

This was great news! If it all worked out, Danielle would be all better! She’s be able to turn ghost, she’d be happy, and then she could finally leave—

Danny halted his thought process, shocked at the thought. Finally leave? Why did he suddenly want Danielle to leave so badly? He loved Dani, she was the closest thing he had to a little sibling. All Danny wanted was for her to get better. 

Danny shook his head and flipped through the hundreds of stations. There was never anything good on TV.

…

About an hour or two later, Danny heard footsteps and voices. Vlad and Danielle emerged, walking into the living room. The two were smiling about whatever it was they were talking about. Vlad spotted Danny on the couch and then glanced down at Danielle. 

“Danielle, why don’t you go to the arcade or rest up? I need to talk to Danny for a moment.” Danielle opened her mouth to protest. “No ‘buts’, young lady. Go on.” Danielle pouted but nodded and left upstairs. 

Vlad looked over to Danny and smirked. “My boy, you look so lonely over there. Mind if I keep you company?” The billionaire sauntered over and sat close to Danny, pulling the boy against his side.

“Knock it off, what if Dani can hear?” Danny protested feebly.

“I sent her away,” Vlad waved off, moving his lips to Danny’s neck. Danny moaned quietly, missing the feel of Vlad’s lips so much. “Or you know, we could tell her…”

Danny’s eyes opened and he moved away from Vlad’s kisses. “No. We can’t,” he muttered and felt the hole under his feet become deeper. More secrets, more people to lie to, more loved ones he didn’t trust enough to tell the truth to…Danny sighed, running a hand through his dark hair.

“Daniel? Everything alright?”

Danny shook his head to clear it and looked to his boyfriend, who was regarding him curiously. “Speaking of Danielle, you two seem to be getting along a lot better now? What’s up with that? Bonding?” Danny asked, trying to deter the conversation away from him. 

Vlad waved off the comment with a flick of his wrist. “It’s nothing, just getting things done.”

“And how’s that going? Danielle said you were getting closer, so does that mean you’ve found something?”

Vlad opened his mouth to speak and then closed it quickly. He glanced away, his expression unreadable. Danny could usually tell what the man was thinking or feeling, but lately he couldn’t seem to interpret the man’s expressions at all. Vlad glanced at Danny, a curious look in his dark blue eyes. 

“What is it?”

Vlad paused and then shook his head. “No, I’m not much closer than I was before. The tests are helpful though, I’m starting to see the problem. I just need to refine my methods of curing her.”

Danny nodded. “Well that’s good then. She seems really excited about your findings. I hope she gets better soon.”

Danny saw Vlad nod his head out of the corner of his eye. A pit filled Danny’s stomach. He leaned against his boyfriend, resting his head on the broad suited shoulder.

Vlad put his arm around Danny’s thin shoulders and ran his long fingers through Danny’s black hair. The boy closed his eyes, inhaling the familiar cologne of Vlad, enjoying the relaxing rhythm of fingers in his hair. He loved Vlad. He really did. Danny wanted to relax in this embrace, to smile and sigh happily and count himself lucky that the two had created this relationship, no longer trying to kill each other, all bad memories passed.

But Danny’s life was never simple, not with the secrets and fights and enemies. Sam and Tucker’s warnings ran through Danny’s head. They were his best friends; their words held weight in his mind even when he had more information than they did. Danielle’s illness not progressing worried Danny, the strange bonding Danielle and Vlad had been starting, the strange twinges in Danny, the normal stresses of senior year and relationships… They piled on Danny, the doubts and anxieties and fears, making it hard for him to enjoy the quality time he had wanted so badly to acquire with Vlad. 

Danny felt long fingers under his chin, tilting his head up. Vlad smiled calmly, his eyes twinkling as he gazed down at his young lover. “You seem so dazed, Little Badger. Have I been ignoring you lately?”

Danny pouted and nodded, his eyes narrowing. Vlad laughed and kissed Danny’s nose. “I’m sorry, Daniel. But I’m here now, do with me as you like.”

Danny’s heart pounded and his groin ached as he leaned up, capturing the older man’s lips. Vlad smirked into the kiss, his hand running through Danny’s hair again and pressing their faces closer. Danny moaned and Vlad took the opportunity to slip his tongue between the boy’s lips. The boy immediately met Vlad’s tongue with his own, rubbing and probing the wet muscle, moaning and panting against the billionaire.

Vlad brought his other hand down Danny’s back, rubbing soothingly and then running lower, grabbing the boy’s behind and hoisting him up and forward to straddle Vlad’s lap. The older man ran his fingers down Danny’s shirt, over the thin stomach and stopped at the bulge growing in Danny’s jeans. Vlad chuckled darkly, moving his lips to Danny’s neck. Vlad sucked hungrily, biting and licking at the sensitive skin, Danny shyly pushing against Vlad’s large hand. The older hybrid undid the jean’s button and unzipped slowly…  
Danny pushed away suddenly. “We can’t.”

“I told you, the girl is all the way upstairs, probably playing those loud violent games you kids love so much,” Vlad laughed, a little breathless as he leaned toward Danny once more.

The boy leaned away and shook his head. “It’s late. You were downstairs too long. If I don’t get home soon, my dad’s gone kill me.”

“The dolt won’t lay a hand on you,” Vlad muttered against Danny’s neck. Danny’s heart skipped a beat and he moved off of Vlad’s lap quickly, fixing his hair and shirt. The boy turned away from the older man as he made sure his shirt was proper and pants buttoned. Vlad had sounded so…possessive. And though that was normal for the man, he hadn’t insulted Danny’s father since they first started this relationship. Hearing the insult triggered memories in Danny’s mind of years ago, fighting and trying to save his father from a vengeful half ghost…

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Little Badger?” Vlad asked, his voice at Danny’s ear as he wrapped his long arms around Danny’s thin figure. The boy paused and then nodded.

“Yeah, I’ll come after school, okay?” Danny didn’t look at Vlad as he transformed into Phantom.

“Alright, Daniel. I love you.”

“I love you too.” Danny turned intangible and sunk into the floor without another word or motion, flying into the lab, opening the portal and flying home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short chapter so I'll post the next one tomorrow, but hope you enjoyed anyway ^^ I know my "slashy" scenes aren't that great but I try xD Any kind of comments or reviews are completely welcome, so long as they are polite ^^


	9. Chapter 9

After school, Danny didn’t bother going home. Well, he went home, but he was in his ghost form, snuck passed his parents and gone straight for the portal. They’d just assume Danny was at detention or with his friends at Nasty Burger anyway. 

Once in Vlad’s lab, Danny saw the billionaire in front of the computer. Danielle was not around. 

Vlad turned his head when he sensed Danny arrive. “Daniel!” he smiled and grabbed something from the lab table. “I think I discovered something.”

“Something?” Danny asked with a tentative smile, walking over to Plasmius. In the gloved hand was a syringe. “A cure?”

Vlad nodded. “That’s right, my boy. I knew it’d come to me eventually. With this I won’t have to…” Vlad glanced at Danny briefly but shook his head and smiled, “Never mind, it doesn’t matter. I knew I could figure it out!” Danny smiled and leaned up to kiss Vlad happily but paused. 

“Vlad, have you been sleeping right?” Danny asked. Vlad usually exuded powerful energy when in his ghost form, tons of it that usually overwhelmed the young hybrid. But right now, Vlad’s energies seemed…weak and dim. “Should you be Plasmius when you’re so exhausted?”

Plasmius brushed Danny’s comment away with a vague gesture. “Couldn’t sleep, too much to do.”

Footsteps echoed as Danielle descended from the stairs. Danny looked over at the same time Vlad did. “Ah, Danielle, perfect timing, my child!” he said with a grin, moving towards the young girl. Danny walked over to stand by his cousin as Danielle readily pulled up the sleeve of her sweater. She was a lot less hesitant lately, Danny noticed.

The trio seemed to hold their breath as Vlad injected the serum. They waited a moment, the situation eerily similar to a few days before, when Vlad had tried to cure Danielle the first time. The tension was palpable with the memory of the last failed attempt but finally, Vlad nodded.

Danielle transformed, the white rings hopping her waist and separating. White hair replaced black and green eyes shone where blue once was. She paused, looking down at her feet. She took a step and then another. A smile threatened to break but she held it back, walking a little further. No melting, no disintegrating.

Danielle looked over at Vlad who was regarding her intensely. She smiled and walked all the way across the lab. When nothing happened, Danielle broke out in a laugh and floated up in her joy. She was in the air for barely a moment before Danny saw it. 

“Danielle, turn back!” he called as her feet tinted green and dripped. She looked down and transformed while still in the air. She cried out as she fell. Vlad moved before Danny could, catching the small girl just before she hit the ground. Vlad kneeled by Danielle as he put her on her feet.

Danielle’s head hung and she sighed. She seemed about to say something to Vlad but was cut off by Vlad’s hand glowing pink and slamming onto the ground.

“It’s okay. You’ll—”

Vlad ignored the girl’s words, standing and banging his fist on the lab table, bottles and liquids scattering and shattering. “Damn it!”

Danny’s eyes widened; Vlad never swore. Not really, he just used those ridiculous bakery words as replacement swears, which Danny found adorable on most days. The only times he’d ever heard Vlad use real swears was when he was extremely tired or extremely pissed. And now that Vlad was both, it’s no wonder he was dropping profanities. 

Danny took a step, moving to comfort the man and calm him but Danielle beat him to it. She stepped over, putting a hand on Vlad’s forearm. “You’ll get it. We’re closer than before, which is good.”

Danny was surprised at Danielle’s soft encouraging words. Just last week she was putting frogs in Vlad’s bed and yelling about how much she hated him. Now she was trying to make him feel better, no longer angry or afraid. What was going on between these two while Danny was away at home?

Danny expected a biting remark or more swearing, but Vlad took a breath and exhaled angrily, running a hand over his blue face and black hair. He glanced to Danielle and put his hand on her head, ruffling her hair tenderly. “Yes, that’s true, little Dani. Thank you.”

Danny’s stomach clenched at the use of the nickname and the affectionate gesture. He looked away, his thoughts a flurry of confusion and anger.

“Come, I’ll make dinner.” Danny looked up at Vlad’s words. Black rings formed around the slim waist and Plasmius was replaced by Masters. Danny followed suit, transforming back to human and following Vlad and Danielle out of the lab and into the kitchen.

The two black haired youths sat quietly as Vlad made dinner. “How about chicken and mac-and-cheese. Real mac-and-cheese, not that artificial concoction that comes in a box. With real Wisconsin cheese!” He laughed as Dani agreed heartily, Danny also agreeing with a nod. “Alright then.”

Danny watched quietly as Vlad made dinner, staring at his movements, the heaviness of his arms and the tension in his back. He really wished he could stay overnight and make sure Vlad slept. This weekend, he would force Vlad into bed to sleep. Danny tried to think of another time Vlad had been so busy and intent on a project that he lost sleep. The boy couldn’t really think of anything…

Vlad finished quickly. “There, just how you like it,” Vlad said, ruffling Dani’s hair. He glanced at Danny, placing the plates on the table. “I’ll be upstairs in my study working, if either of you need anything. I’ve been neglecting some more human work, which needs attending to.” He then offered a smile to both Dannys and left the kitchen. 

Danielle dug into the food hungrily, but Danny pushed his food around, his mind buzzing with too much to concentrate on the food before him.

“Danny? Aren’t you hungry?” Danielle asked, her fork halfway to her mouth. She stared at him with sky blue eyes, concerned and identical to his own. 

When Danny and Vlad were alone, snuggling on the couch or under the sheets on a late night, Vlad would sometimes look into Danny’s eyes, saying the blue eyes were like the sky and the green ones like the grass, like a summer day, warm and perfect. Danny would always blush, his eyes flashing neon green sometimes and he wouldn’t feel like a freak or weird or ashamed; he’d love his blue eyes and green eyes, he’d love his ghost half. He’d feel like one of a kind, like someone that Vlad loved…

Danny stared at Danielle who sat across the table from him, her eyes blue now but would be green once she was fixed. Like the sky and the grass. 

“Not really…” Danny said, standing and putting his plate in the refrigerator. 

“That’s too bad. Vlad made it really good,” Dani said, putting her empty plate in the sink. “He added something to the chicken that made it more—”

“Sweet, yeah its honey barbeque sauce. I told him once that I like that sauce, he tried it and really liked it too. So now he always makes it like that,” Danny said, not at all surprised that Danielle would love honey barbeque sauce as well. 

“Well can we go play video games now?” Danielle asked. 

Danny, being a hormonal teenager feeling angsty at the moment, wanted nothing more than to sulk and pout. But looking down at his pleading cousin, he couldn’t deny her. Plus, maybe shooting some bad guys and knocking through buildings with a race car might help his nerves. 

They headed out the kitchen and to the game room; surprisingly enough, despite Vlad being a pompous stuffy old man, the guy enjoyed video games. And was pretty darn good at them too, so Danny at least had competition (which only helped Danny love Vlad even more). Because of this, Vlad didn’t have a problem with turning one of the empty rooms in his massive mansion into an at home arcade, with all systems, arcade style machines lining the walls both old and new, with shelves upon shelves of different games. In the corner he even had one of those super fancy gaming chairs that Danny had owned at one point when he was rich. Danny usually spent his time in here when Vlad was working. 

Danielle hurried into the room, rushing over to the side of the huge flat screen mounted on the wall. “Look what Vlad got the other day!”

Danielle stepped aside as Danny stepped forward. He looked at the station she was pointing to and then did a double take. “Wait, is that the Play Station 4!? But it hasn’t come out yet!”

“You know Vlad; with his money and power, he could get a Play Station 5 before one’s even made!” Danielle said with a laugh, starting up the station and handing a controller to Danny. 

“Yeah…I do know Vlad,” Danny mumbled but sat down before the television. “Man, Tucker’s gonna freak when I tell him Vlad’s got one of these!”

“And look what else he got!” Danielle held up a video game case, unopened. “I was waiting to play it with you because I know you’ve been waiting for this to come out too.”

“No way, GTA V!?” Danny exclaimed, taking the case from Danielle.

“Mhmm,” she said with a nod. “Ghost Terror Apocalypse 5, with the DLC included!”

“This is awesome! What are you waiting for, hook it up!” Danny smiled like he was ten years old on Christmas, as the video game started up. Gaming was always a good distraction for the ghost boy, no matter the troubles plaguing his mind. 

Danny held his controller, a smile beaming across his face. “I get to be Rider.”

“What? No way, he’s the best character!” Danielle said. “I wanna be him!”

“I’m the oldest and I’m first player, so I’m Rider,” Danny said with a smug grin as he selected the character as his avatar. Danielle pouted but didn’t fuss, choosing the secondary character to play as. “You’re going down Fenton!”

“In your dreams Masters!” Danny said without thinking; he was used to taunting Vlad during video gaming. He looked to Danielle to see if she was offended or would dispute that Vlad wasn’t her father, she hated him, etc. But Danielle’s daring smile was plastered on her face as she stared at the TV. The name hadn’t affected her. 

They really are getting along well…Danny thought. That’s really good.

The two cousins played for a while, deciding to go with a two player combat mode so they fought each other instead of doing story mode. It was fun for a while until they played online against other gamers and realized what a kick-butt team they made. “Ha, these guys aren’t even on the same level! We’re the undefeatable Team Phantom!” Danielle yelled at the screen as she repeatedly pressed X, shooting lasers at the other gamers.

Danny paused briefly from his X button pressing, but when he got shot by an enemy, he snapped out of it and groaned.

“Come on Danny!” Danielle said with a laugh. “You can’t lose your mojo against these noobs! Wait, I know how to get you more motivated!”

She stood quickly, tossing her control to the ground and ran over to the large stereo. She rifled through some of the CDs, then pulled out a familiar purple case. Danny’s favorite.

“Dumpty Humpty! They rock! This is the album I listen to whenever I need to get into action!” Danielle explained, putting the CD in and pressing play. Danny listened as the familiar grungy sounds of the band filled the room. It made sense…Danielle spent the past few days here, the only company being Vlad. It was probably lonely for Danielle most of the time so she probably spent most of her time in here playing games, and all the CDs in the collection were mostly Danny’s favorites, with a few of Vlad’s favorites from the 80’s. So Danielle would probably like the same music as Danny; he already knew she liked Dumpty Humpty like he did…so wasn’t it normal she’d love his favorite album by them as well…?

He glanced at his younger cousin and then put the controller down. He stood and stretched, feigning tiredness. “Well I need a quick bathroom break before getting “into action”. Try to be easy on them while I’m gone.”

“No promises!” Danielle called as Danny left the arcade, shutting the door behind him, the angry screams of the band muffled in the empty hallway. He walked down the hall, passed the dozens upon dozens of useless rooms, passed one bathroom, then another until he faced Vlad’s working study. He silently opened the door a crack and peaked in.  
This study was much smaller than his private study. It had a large desk, a small bookshelf, small round table and a few chairs, but nothing much else. This was where Vlad always retired to do boring paperwork for his various companies that he “inherited”.

Danny looked over to the desk where Vlad was hunched over, scrawling something with a pen, his black jacket off and his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His red necktie was loose and he had rimless reading glasses balanced on the tip of his nose. Danny couldn’t help the smile that broke over his face; Vlad just looked so…cute when he was working. 

Danny opened the door wider and leaned against the doorframe, watching the older man work. Vlad glanced up briefly and then looked up again when he fully noticed Danny in the doorway, quickly pushing a large manila envelope over the papers before him. “Daniel?” He pulled off his glasses and set them aside. “Something wrong?”

“No. Just seeing how everything’s going,” Danny said casually. 

Vlad rubbed his forehead tiredly. “Swimmingly. There’s still a lot to go, so if nothing’s wrong then I really need to get back to it.”

Danny paused, looking behind him into the empty hall. He didn’t want to leave yet; he needed to talk to Vlad.

“I almost got caught earlier this week due to another one of my dad’s inventions—” Vlad scoffed and muttered something unintelligible but obviously rude under his breath as he slipped his glasses back on and grabbed a packet on the corner of his desk, careful not to move the manila envelope. “It’s getting harder and harder to keep my powers a secret, so I finally decided; the day of my graduation, I’m going to tell them.”

Vlad paused and looked up. He didn’t remove the glasses, just gazed over them at Danny with a wide, concerned expression. His gaze softened. “If that’s what you’ve decided Danny, I’ll be right there by you.”

Danny paused. Technically he had been thinking about telling his parents, but it hadn’t been the top priority of his time lately. Danny knew though that it was the one discussion topic he and Vlad always took very seriously. No matter what Vlad was doing, how upset he was, how tired or distracted, Vlad would listen to Danny when he talked about telling his secret. Vlad had sworn that he would help Danny through it, whenever he decided to tell them, whether as support for actually doing it, or comfort for if it went badly. That was why Danny brought it up now. He needed Vlad’s undivided attention for just a bit. It may be wrong to use such a serious topic, but Danny was desperate. 

Danny nodded. “Because you love me, right?”

Vlad blinked. “Hm?”

“You’ll be there for me, because you love me. Right?”

“Well, yes. Of course.”

Danny bit his bottom lip and then asked, “Why do you love me?”

Vlad regarded Danny curiously. “What?”

The boy looked towards Vlad, trying not to sound as desperate and helpless as he felt. “Why do you do all this for me? Why do you bother? I just wanna know…why do you love me?”

“Daniel…” Vlad regarded Danny carefully, his dark eyes soft. He smiled slightly. “Don’t I tell you enough?”

“Humor me.”

Vlad laughed lightly and spoke. “You’re brave. You’re kind; even though that kindness was slightly irritating at first, but once it was pointed at me, I loved it.” He chuckled. “You’re stubbornness as well was something that took some time to appreciate but now I find it downright adorable.” Danny blushed slightly but said nothing. “You’re handsome, that’s for sure.” Vlad gazed at the boy. “Absolutely beautiful in every way, no matter what form you take. And that of course, the fact that you’re half ghost, is a good reason. We’re the same, and you help me to not feel so…lonely, or isolated, like I’ve felt for over twenty years.”

Danny held Vlad’s gaze only a moment longer before looking down. Usually when Vlad spoke like this, Danny’s heart would flutter in joy, his face would turn red and he’d want to rush into Vlad’s arms.

But now, the words only sent a shiver of dread and despair through the boy. Brave, kind, stubborn, his looks, half ghost…Danielle was all those things as well. What separated Danny from his clone? What stopped Vlad from loving Danielle instead…she was a clone of Danny, his exact copy instead a girl. Hadn’t Vlad liked girls before Danny anyway? Danielle was perfect, the perfect Danny for Vlad. And even if Vlad found faults in Danielle, what if he used the research on her to create another clone, another Danny or Dani, but a perfect one, Vlad’s ideal partner who never argued or complained or got in the way…?

Danny’s mind whirled with uncertainty and doubt and inadequacy. He was scared, scared of losing Vlad, the one he loved so much, the one he’d fought so hard for, the one who understood him more than anyone and made him happier than he’d ever been since he could remember.

Danny blinked and ran across the room, fazing through the desk and flinging himself into Vlad’s lap, wrapping his arms around the older man’s chest. He buried his face in the broad chest, not willing to let Vlad see the misery in his eyes. Vlad could always read him like a book. 

“Daniel! Danny, what’s wrong?” Vlad asked in concern, trying to pry the boy from his chest but Danny held fast. “Danny…”

“I just…really love you too Vlad,” Danny choked out, hoping the strain in his voice sounded emotional and not miserable. “And I just really miss you.”

“Oh Daniel…you silly boy,” Vlad murmured, running long fingers soothingly through Danny’s black locks. “Always so emotional…but I suppose I have been a little less than attentive these past few days… haven’t I?”

Danny didn’t want Vlad feeling bad, especially when he’d been working so hard lately, but he couldn’t stop himself from nodding. Vlad’s body shook slightly as he laughed. Danny’s heart warmed a little and he pulled back, only to quickly clamp his mouth onto the older man’s. 

Vlad made a surprised sound but quickly put a hand to the back of Danny’s head and licked the boy’s bottom lip. Danny moaned as he opened his mouth, his tongue darting out to meet Vlad’s. Danny gripped Vlad’s shoulders and tilted his head as Vlad grew hungrier with the kiss.

Danny wanted to cry and scream and cheer and laugh all at the same time, but for now, all he did was kiss Vlad like this might be the last time.

Danny pulled away for a moment, pulling off Vlad’s glasses and tossing them onto the desk. Vlad smirked and nearly growled before claiming the boy’s mouth again, aggressively and deeply. 

He panted against parted lips until Vlad gently pushed Danny’s shoulders away. Danny saw Vlad’s red lips and knew his own were probably swollen and bruised looking from the fierce kissing. Danny panted and Vlad leaned his forehead against Danny’s. “Daniel…”

“I’m sorry Vlad,” Danny whispered, shaking his head. “For being such a brat.”

“What? You, a brat?” Vlad said, half serious surprise and half mock surprise. He put his large hands on either side of Danny’s face. “Are you alright? You seem…”

“It’s just…you’ve been working so hard these past few days, not sleeping well and all, and I’ve just been…I don’t know, acting selfish, wanting all your attention all the time… I feel like a spoiled little brat.” Vlad smiled, running his thumb soothingly under Danny’s eye. “So, I just wanted to apologize and thank you, I guess.”

“All you’ve been doing is thanking me,” Vlad said. “I really haven’t accomplished anything yet.”

“But you will!” Danny insisted, looking into Vlad’s deep eyes earnestly. “You’ll find the cure and then…Danielle will be better.”

Vlad opened his mouth and then hesitated. He glanced away a moment and then looked back to Danny. “Daniel…about Danielle’s cure. There’s…well there’s something I’ve been meaning to—” 

“Danny!” Vlad cut off at the sound of the voice outside the door.

“Danielle!” “Dani!” Vlad and Danny exclaimed in unison. Just as the study door opened, Vlad put a hand on Danny’s head and shoved down, fazing the boy threw the desk. Danny landed harshly below the desk as Danielle walked in.

“Ah Danielle my girl!” Danny scowled at how sweet and happy Vlad sounded. “What’s the matter?”

“Has Danny come in here?”

“Daniel?” Danny crossed his arms. Vlad sounded as if he’d never heard of such a name! Danny knew Vlad was just pretending, but he didn’t have to sound so convincing, as if it was easy to forget Danny was also in the mansion. 

“We were playing video games and he said he had to go to the bathroom, but he’s been gone awhile…I need him for the CO-OP gaming.”

“Maybe he ate a bit too much?” Vlad said and then laughed. Danielle laughed too and Danny’s cheeks turned red in embarrassment. Danielle knew he hadn’t eaten dinner, but she was still laughing. Danny listened a bit longer as the two continued a casual conversation. So when I come barging in, Vlad needs to work but for Danielle, let’s just spend the rest of the night chatting it up! Danny seethed under the desk silently. 

Danny didn’t care if he was acting immature or childish or selfish; Vlad wasn’t going to forget he was here! Danielle may be his clone, but she wasn’t going to take his place! Danny knew Vlad better, knew him longer and…knew how to please him.

Danny smirked and moved his position under the desk so he was kneeling, facing Vlad. The man’s long legs faced him under the desk but Danny’s focus was on something else. Quietly, Danny inched between Vlad’s legs and kissed the man’s clothed groin.

Danny smirked when he heard Vlad hitch in the middle of the sentence he’d been speaking, trying quickly to brushing it off. Again Danny leaned forward, pressing an open mouthed kiss in between Vlad’s legs. Vlad shifted slightly, moving his hips back but Danny just moved forward. He put a hand on Vlad’s inner thigh, rubbing slowly and kissing again. 

He says I get excited easily, Danny thought smugly as Vlad’s pants began to bulge. Pervert. 

Danny’s smile widen and he kissed at the hardening cock, feeling the warmth of it through the suit pants. The boy opened his mouth and inched forward, taking the tip of the zipper in his mouth and slowly, quietly dragging it down, taunting. No way is he going to ignore me again! Not for Dani, or anybody else…

Danny felt Vlad struggle, heard the man’s voice get lower and tighter, though not enough to alert Danielle that anything was wrong. Danny wanted to make Vlad shout, scream, groan and beg, to moan Danny’s name, even with Danielle there, he wanted her to know Vlad was his; he’d known Vlad longer, he worked hard to get into this relationship and it wasn’t fair for anyone to ruin it. Danny wanted Vlad to know too, wanted Vlad to remember who Danny was and how much he loved and needed him, that no clone could replace him. 

Danny pulled out Vlad’s cock, stiff and hard, heavy in his hand. He bent his neck up and opened his mouth, nearly salivating as he thought of the taste, the heaviness on his tongue, the sounds Vlad would make. 

But Danny wasn’t a bad kid. He wasn’t naturally vindictive or naughty like this. He couldn’t do it with Danielle in the room, it wouldn’t be right. He shouldn’t be aiming his aggression and frustrations at her. This wasn’t the right way. 

Danny sighed, which sent a shiver up Vlad’s spine when the breath touched his bare cock. Danny could wait for Vlad’s attention; wait for him to find the cure. Then everything would be back to normal, Vlad would give all his attention to Danny like before, no one else. He needed to stop acting like a little brat, impatient and selfish and impulsive.   
But then again…Danny was a hormonally unbalanced teenager. His emotions were like the weather, ever changing, raging one minute, calm the next, unpredictable and erratic. Just as soon as Danny had convinced himself this was a bad idea, he heard Danielle laugh and those angry feelings boiled up again unbidden. He felt reasoning fly out his mind as pure emotion and hormones got the better of him. He narrowed his eyes and swallowed. 

“And then I…Vlad are you okay?”

“Just…Just fine, my child. B-but we’re going to have…to finish this conversation another time!” Vlad choked out and Danny smirked around the large cock in his mouth.


	10. Chapter 10

“Prom is this week dude, and you still haven’t asked anyone?”

“No, I haven’t. The only reason I’m even going is because my parents already bought me a new tux.”

“Aw come on Danny,” Sam said, pulling on her large black army jacket. “Prom’s one of those things all high schoolers go through; it’s supposed to be fun.”

“I thought you were into ‘doing your own thing’ and going against the ‘expectations of society’?” Danny said with a pointed look at his ultra-recyclo vegetarian friend. 

“I am, but it’s just…” Sam blushed lightly and glanced at her boots. “I mean if we went, I thought it’d be fun, you know. Even with all the stupid dresses and suits and stuff…” Sam laughed nervously, glancing back up to gauge Danny’s reaction.

Danny sighed. “Great, even you’re into this…” he ran a hand threw his messy hair. “I guess you’re right though. If all three of us go as a group, it won’t be too bad.”

Sam’s smile fell but before she could say anything, Tucker cut in with an indignant, “Sorry man, but remember, I’m bringing Allison.”

“You were serious about that? I thought you were just kidding,” Danny asked, closing his locker.

“Hey, I can get a date! I may not have had as many girlfriends as you, Mr. Fenton but I haven’t had as many romance failures either.” Sam and Danny glared at Tucker who flushed and asked, “Too soon?”

Sam elbowed Tucker in the ribs and turned to Danny. “So you wanna hang out with us today? We were planning on hitting the movies and then scour the park for any ghostly menaces. You know, like old times.”

Danny shook his head. “Today’s my day to go training with Vlad.”

“Ugh, again? Dude, you’ve been over there all week because of Dani. When’s Tucker and Sam time?”

Danny shrugged off Tucker’s comment and started out the school.

“He’s right Danny, one afternoon isn’t going to hurt,” Sam said helpfully, falling in line with the half ghost.

“What happened to ‘Vlad’s evil’, ‘Vlad can’t be trusted’, or whatever it is you two are always complaining about?” Danny said.

“It’s all true,” Tucker said, with a shrug of his thin shoulders. Danny scowled.

“But we miss you. You’re usually busy on the weekends, and now even during the week you’re constantly away,” Sam said.

“Yeah…it’s almost like you’re leading some sort of double life…” Tucker mused suspiciously and then laughed. Danny knew he was just kidding, but he couldn’t help the guilty churn in his stomach. Leading a double life as Danny Phantom was hard enough to keep secret from his parents and peers, but now adding this secret life as Vlad’s boyfriend from the two people whom he was supposed to share everything with ate away at him all the time. 

Maybe spending some time with them wouldn’t be too bad, Danny mused. He did miss hanging out with his friends. And hanging out and just doing boring teen things would definitely distract him from—

“Vlad can hold off on his schemes for one afternoon. Just leave Dani and Vlad alone for a day and check on them tomorrow. It’ll be fun!” Danny’s mind whirled and his heart clenched. Leave them…alone? That was bad, way bad. Danny couldn’t help it anymore; he was jealous! Which was completely ridiculous! Dani was his cousin! And she’s only twelve! Well technically she was supposed to be like fourteen right now, which was the same age Danny met Vlad, and Danny was still a teen which didn’t seem to bother Vlad much, so dating a little younger might not be too—

“AGH!!” Danny exclaimed, putting his hands in his hair. He needs to stop thinking like this! Vlad loved him! No one else! He’s just helping with Danielle, that’s it!

“Uhh..you ok, man?”

Danny shook his head and then nodded quickly. “Yeah. I’ve been kind of off this week… hanging out with you guys today might actually be a good idea. I need the break, you know?”

“Awesome!” his friends exclaimed. 

As they all bustled down the street, talking about which movie to buy, how much money they all had, what candies to buy…Danny was plotting. 

I’ll spend the day here in Amity Park. If nothing’s going on, Vlad will call or text when I don’t show up. I’ll go over tomorrow and see that everything is normal. I’ll relax and get these stupid feelings out of my head. Right, that’s a good plan.

Danny smiled to himself and vowed to enjoy his day.

…

Danny was not enjoying his day. Well, he was. These were his best friends, hanging out with them was always fun, from Sam’s arguments about animal rights all the way to Tucker’s bragging of meat connoisseur-ism. The three of them went to the movies and saw an awesome action movie about a dude with a six pack and a handlebar mustache fighting an evil terrorist group. Afterwards they headed to Sam’s house instead of the park to go bowling. Sam’s grandmother beat them with a perfect score. Now they were all lazing it out on her couch, playing video games.

None of that was the problem. The problem was that Vlad hadn’t called or texted. All day. It was driving Danny mad. The man couldn’t be so busy that he couldn’t bother to say hey. Or greetings. Salutations. I love you Daniel, come here now so we can make sweet love all night. But no, nothing. Not a single ring.  
Danny tried to calm himself, he really did. He didn’t want to become one of those obsessive boyfriends, always calling and panicking, getting jealous over the littlest things. He wanted to trust Vlad. But mixed with Danny’s emotions, his slightly low self-esteem, the rocky passed with his boyfriend, the fact that Dani was an exact replica of Danny and his friends constant complaints that Vlad was evil…it was getting harder and harder to keep his head high and his thoughts calm.

“Danny, you okay? Tucker just creamed you for like the fourth time,” Sam asked by Danny’s ear. The ghost boy blinked and stared at the large screen flashing PLAYER TWO WINS! in bright colors. 

“Oh…my bad,” Danny said, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

“Gimme that,” Sam said with an exasperated smile. She took the controller from his hands and clicked replay. “You look exhausted. Rough day with classes or something?”

“More like a rough week…” Danny muttered. 

“See, Vlad is still evil! He’s keeping you busy all week, making you tired so when he lands his big attack, you’ll be too exhausted to stop him!” Tucker exclaimed from the floor, furiously pressing buttons. “It’s kind of brilliant actually. Teaching you all kinds of tricks and powers every week, but you’ll be too tired to use them when it’s really needed. Talk about irony…”

“Oh drop it Tuck, stop trying to freak Danny out.” Sam said mildly. She inclined her head towards Danny, not taking her eyes from the screen. “What kind of stuff does he teach you anyway?” she asked, casually leaning against Danny as her character attacked Tucker’s mercilessly. 

The proper way to beg in bed, Make-out 101, Ghost sex, How to keep a secret boyfriend from your family and friends…the list goes on and on. Mostly just how to completely stress me out and make me insanely jealous… Danny didn’t feel like going into details.

“Just all the tricks he’s learned over the past twenty-something years,” Danny said vaguely. Probably not a complete lie…“But it’s not the training that’s got me tired, it’s just this whole thing with Dani. I’m worried about her. What if she can’t get fixed?”

“Or what if Vlad actually is still evil and ends up experimenting on her?” Tucker said casually. 

Sam kicked his back and paused the game. “Look Danny, all joking aside, we trust you. You trust Vlad, so we believe he won’t hurt her. And even if the guy is crazier than the Mad Hatter, he’s smart. He’ll figure something out.”

Danny blinked, surprised by his more protective friend actually saying something decently nice about Vlad. His mind itched in suspicion at her sudden trusting air, when Sam suddenly grabbed Danny’s hand and squeezed.

Something in Danny’s chest broke at the familiar gesture. It made Danny want to reveal everything; his relationship with Vlad, his worries about Dani and Vlad, his concerns, all of it. He was tired of lying and he wanted his friends to help him. He wanted them back. He wanted everything to be okay again.

Danny shook his head slightly and forced the lump in his throat down with great effort, forcing the feelings down with the effort of stopping a dam with your bare hands. Finally Danny was able to nod and squeeze Sam’s hand back, smiling at her.

“Thanks Sam. That really helps,” he said and his best friend’s smile broadened. Tucker glanced at their hands a moment and then turned back to the screen.

“Unpause it girl, I was just about to destroy your fort!” Tucker complained. Sam blinked; she had been staring at Danny with a silly grin. She released Danny’s hand reluctantly and unpaused the game. Danny laughed as ten seconds later Sam had managed to destroy both Tucker’s fort and all his recruits, effectively killing his character and winning. It felt good to laugh again after so much teenage angst.

After a few rounds, Danny played against Sam. She beat him at first but now that Danny was in a better mood, he managed to beat her three times afterwards. She yelled at him in mock anger, accusing him of somehow using his ghost powers to cheat. He laughed and denied, though his eyes flashed bright green at her.   
Danny didn’t check his phone again that afternoon.

…

Danny sat down at his desk, scribbling furiously at his notebook, math book open beside him. He sighed. He wished it was the weekend and he were able to stay with his friends all night, just laughing and eating junk. But this weekend is the prom, Danny’s mind reminded him and the teen groaned. 

He stared at the numbers and letters on the paper. Nothing that he’d just wrote made any sense. Math was more of his parent’s thing, something he obviously hadn’t inherited from them. They were busy in the lab tonight, so he couldn’t ask them for help. He glanced at his phone in the corner of the desk.

Still nothing from Vlad. He must be busy. He wouldn’t have time to help Danny with silly math questions.

Something pulled in Danny’s chest. He wanted to hear Vlad’s voice suddenly. It was so physical, this longing, that Danny hadn’t realized he’d already grabbed his phone and scrolled down to Vlad’s number.

Now that he was home in his room, Danny felt alone again. He felt like this more and more often ever since Jaz left from college. His parents were always busy, his friends he only saw during the day…plus, with all the secrets, he had to keep them all at arm’s length. For a while now, Vlad was the only one who could take all the loneliness away. And right now, Danny felt alone.

The phone rang once, twice and three times. Danny’s heart beat with each ring, anxiety burning in his mind. Finally the rings ended and Vlad’s voice mail answered.

Hello, this is Vlad Masters. I’m either in a meeting or watching a Packer’s game. Please leave me a message so I can attempt to reach you again. Beeep. 

Danny snapped his phone shut. He glanced to the window. It was dark already. Danny stood, throwing all his books and notebooks into his backpack. He threw it over his shoulder, transformed, and turned invisible. He flew downstairs and slipped passed his parents into the ghost portal.

“What’s his deal?” Danny muttered to himself. “I just want to talk to him.” A text, a call, anything. Usually Vlad would get to Danny by now. Was he being clingy and needy? He hadn’t bothered Vlad all day, and this was a partially legitimate excuse. He didn’t want to fail math. Just a few questions, solve an example or two so Danny really understood the problems, and then he’d leave. Maybe a little repeat of the other day under Vlad’s desk…At the opening of the Master’s ghost portal, Danny paused.

All this way, just for math troubles…Geez Fenton, a little desperate huh? Danny sighed. He was never good with relationships. After Paulina, Valerie, and Sam…he still didn’t know how to act. He was clueless. But he came all this way…

With his heart pounding, he peeked his head in. Normally Danny felt so comfortable just stopping by Vlad’s…now he felt like a nuisance.

Vlad was in the lab. Geez, does he ever rest? Danny thought, and then chastised himself mentally. He’s doing this for Dani!

Speaking of which, she was there as well, holding her hands out parallel to the ground, her legs spread. Vlad stood by her, silently attaching wires to her wrists, neck, temples, legs, and neck. He walked over to the computer and clicked a button.

Danny watched silently, his head still invisible. 

Vlad silently read the computer, his dark eyebrows crinkled in concentration.

“Well? What does it say?” Dani asked, her voice hesitant. 

Vlad blinked and then sighed loudly. He banged his gloved hand on the computer and Dani jumped. Danny was about to fly in, thinking that in his anger Vlad might snap at Dani or maybe even hit her. Vlad could have a nasty temper.

But as Vlad whirled to face Dani, he yanked off all the wires and fell to his knees before her. Danny’s eyes widen and so did Dani’s.

“I’m so sorry, Danielle. This is much more complicated than it first seemed,” he muttered, so low that if it wasn’t for Danny’s enhanced ghost senses, he wouldn’t have heard it. “But I swear I’m going to fix you.”

Dani nodded and Vlad threw his arms around the child, holding her close. “I love you, Danielle,” Vlad whispered, his voice laced with grief and emotion. “…so much. I’m going to fix this…no matter what.” 

Danny gasped and flew backwards, his head retracting from the portal. He floated there for what seemed hours, staring at the ghost portal before him that lead to Danny’s worst nightmares. He blinked and trembled, his heart trying to catch breath.

Silently, Danny turned and flew back home, blinking rapidly and trying to erase those words from his mind. His heart felt like it had been swallowed in a cold blackness. He’d felt this before, this heart ache…but never like this. It was unbearable and shattering and numbing. 

What was Danny going to do now?


	11. Chapter 11

“Danny, where are you?”

“Look up.”

Tucker and Sam looked up from the lunch table, Tucker’s cell phone still at his ear. The two teen’s eyes widened with they saw a single branch in the tree shake, raining leaves onto their table.

“What are you doing up there?” Tucker asked into the phone.

Danny watched quietly as Sam snatched the phone from Tucker. “Danny what are you doing? Why did you skip school?” her tone was disapproving as always, but laced in real concern.

Danny shrugged, but knew they couldn’t see him. He sighed into the cell phone. “I don’t know…just didn’t feel like going to school today.”

“Didn’t feel like it? Danny, that’s no excuse and it’s an abuse of your powers,” Sam scolded and Danny couldn’t help rolling his eyes, once again thankful for his current invisibility. What did she know about his powers? She was always reprimanding him about them but she’s never had them. He uses them all the time for others; why can’t he just once use them for himself? Vlad had always said the powers were theirs, given to them for a reason. It was alright to use them for others but the powers were for them to use to improve themselves as well.

Tucker snatched his phone back. “Dude, why didn’t you let me in on this hooky day! Do you see what they are serving for lunch today? Pasta! Not even any beef in it! With salad on the side! Take me away from this torture!”

“Tucker!” Sam snapped, taking the cell phone. “Danny, come down here. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing Sam,” Danny said mildly. And it was true, partially. He wasn’t skipping because he was a mess or anything. He’d just struggled this morning getting out of bed. He’d been restless all night, tossing and turning, waking after only minutes of light sleep. He had conjured a clone and sent into outside to trick his parents. Once the clone had walked around the block, it had slipped into an alley and disappeared. Danny had remained in bed the whole time, trying to catch up on sleep, not feeling like facing the world today.

When Sam didn’t respond, Danny sighed and ran a gloved hand through his white hair. “I just had a rough night. My parents made a new invention and it keep beeping around me. I just kept thinking about how’d they’re going to figure me out one of these days,” Danny lied through his teeth. It was a plausible enough excuse. And luckily, Sam seemed to believe it.

“Well, are you still going to go through with your plan to tell them after graduation?” Sam asked quietly, her voice no longer biting but concerned. 

The plan…it had started out as a spur of the moment idea to get Vlad’s attention, but after seriously giving it some thought, he decided it was a good idea. He’d told Sam and Tucker about it yesterday and they had agreed to be there for him as well. He’d thanked them, especially since he wasn’t sure if Vlad would be there for him anymore.

“Yeah…I was just worried last night and stressing out. I was too tired to go to school this morning. Sorry, Sam,” Danny said, his voice drawn.

“It’s alright Danny. I just wished you told us earlier,” Sam said. 

I should have told them…about it all. I always tell them everything…now I don’t even let them know when I’m skipping school…

She paused and then looked up at the tree, where she assumed Danny was. Her eyes flitted over him but never made eye contact. It was still unnerving at times when he was invisible, the way people would look straight through him. “Danny, look…about tomorrow, there’s something I wanted to talk to you about…”

“Later Sam,” Danny said. Prom was tomorrow. It was honestly the last thing he wanted to discuss right now. “I need to go anyway. I just wanted you guys to know I was okay. Call you later.”

Before Sam or Tucker could say anything more, Danny hung up and flew off. Once he was far enough away from the school, he turned visible. He really didn’t want any unnecessary attention right now from the kids at school. He flew high and fast, enjoying the feeling of the wind whipping his face, the almost clean air filling his lungs and the weightlessness of his body. He flew for hours, allowing his body and mind to relax before finally landing at the doorstep of Masters Manor.

…

Danny, now black hair and blue eyed, walked through the manor quietly. It was large and silent and cold. This place had once felt like a second home.

He found life in the kitchen. Vlad was sipping what smelled like coffee. Dani sat across from him eating macaroni and cheese.

“Danny!”

The girl jumped up and hugged her older cousin. Danny couldn’t help the smile that tugged at his lips as he hugged her back. His eyes glanced up briefly, catching Vlad staring at him. Danny quickly looked back down and away from those dark eyes that seemed so closed.

“Daniel.” Danny felt a chill run through him. So badly had he wanted to hear that voice, his name uttered by this man…but the thrill was deluded by the words he’d heard spoken last night. Danny moved his eyes, looking anywhere but at Vlad.

“Dani, why don’t you go upstairs and take a nap? It’s been a long day.” Danielle groaned quietly but put away her plate and did as she was told. Neither spoke as the soft footsteps of the girl faded away and there was silence. And then…

“Daniel,” Vlad said again, standing and walking over to Danny. He put his arms around Danny’s thin body, holding him tightly. “It’s only noon. What are you doing here so early?”

“Skipped school,” Danny muttered into Vlad’s shoulder. 

The older man pulled away, amusement swimming through his dark blue eyes. He leaned down and kissed Danny chastely. “What a bad boy. Am I a bad influence?”

“Always,” Danny muttered and leaned up, clamping his mouth on Vlad’s. He didn’t want to talk. He might say something stupid, ask questions, or reveal what he had seen yesterday. He might cry. Instead he wanted something physical, something potent and hard and real. He wanted to forget, to let his body pretend everything was okay so that his mind would believe it. He remembered just the other week how connected he’d felt to Vlad, as though this man were his other half, the one that completed him. Now he wasn’t sure, but he felt like he was losing something important to him, a part of him. He knew something was breaking between them. He didn’t like to feel lost and alone. He wanted Vlad to love him as much as hoped he did. 

The older hybrid moved his hands to Danny’s back and pressed him closer, till there was no space between them except their clothes. Vlad’s mouth tasted like bitter coffee, but Danny savored it as the older man easily took control, kissing and licking, taking over Danny’s mouth, dominating it. Danny melted into the rhythm easily, moaning quietly against the hot mouth pressing into his, feeling as though it’d been weeks since he’d last tasted his boyfriend, touched his chest and hair and jaw. He was drowning, melting, burning, wanting more desperately, wanting to faze right into Vlad so the older man could never leave, could never go away or love anybody else.

Suddenly, too soon, Vlad pulled away, looking Danny in the eye. Danny was breathless, leaning upward. Vlad’s expression as unreadable as he gazed at Danny, but the boy thought he saw apprehension in those eyes…maybe even sadness.

Oh no, Danny thought. What’s he thinking? Why does he look like that? What is he going to say…? I used to be able to read him so well…now it’s like…

Vlad didn’t say anything, but his eyes still seemed so closed and so anxious. Dark circles lined under his eyes. The man brought his hand to Danny’s cheek, tracing the skin with the pad of his thumb. He was so delicate, as though Danny might break. I may, he thought. If he says goodbye…

“Daniel,” Vlad said and Danny’s heart pounded at the tenderness of his voice.

Vlad stepped back and took Danny’s hand. The silver haired hybrid transformed and Danny quickly followed, his energy ignited by Vlad’s touch. “Come.” Vlad turned intangible and pulled them through the floors until they stood in the lab. 

“How’s the cure coming along?” Danny asked once they landed, though he already knew the answer. He’d seen the failure last night. 

Vlad paused, floating over to the computers. “That’s…what I wanted to talk to you about, Daniel.” His voice was resigned, guarded. It didn’t sit right in Danny’s stomach.

“Is there something I can do to help?” Danny asked cautiously.

Vlad turned to face Danny but his eyes seemed dark and shaded. “Funny you should ask, my boy…” He stood up straighter and rapped at the computer screen with a knuckle. “I’ve been testing Danielle and analyzing her, over and over all week…with very little progress. I just couldn’t seem to pinpoint how to solve the problem.” Vlad’s red eyes bore into Danny’s. “Then I realized…it’s you, Daniel.”

“Me?”

“She’s your clone. It’s your DNA I’m working with.”

“So…you need to do some tests with me…?”

Vlad sighed. “Do you remember…well I’m sure you do…when I first created Danielle, I was trying to extract a DNA sample from you?”

Danny paused, his blood running cold. He remembered all right…being kidnapped, knocked out, tied up and tortured. It had been terrifying and he tried not to think of Vlad in that way. But standing here now, with Vlad staring at him talking about those times, the memories and fear rose up unbidden. He nodded.  
“I need it Daniel. I need that mid-morph DNA that I was unable to get back then.” Vlad’s voice didn’t waver or sound apologetic, just earnest and matter-of-fact. His eyes sought Danny’s but Danny couldn’t meet them. He didn’t say anything, and didn’t really think anything. Just stood. Vlad waited, and then stepped over and embraced Danny. “It’s the only way Daniel. For her.”

The words ripped through Danny’s numbness, straight to his heart. For her. Yes, he would do this for her. He loved Danielle, and so did Vlad. Danny loved Vlad, and wanted him to be happy. If Vlad chose Dani, then Danny would do everything in his power to help…

The boy put his arms around Vlad. “Alright…”

…

Danny’s heart raced as Vlad hooked him up to the machine. Danny was put inside the chamber Danielle usually occupied. It was the first time Danny ever willingly went into it. He held onto that thought, knowing that this was his choice. Vlad wasn’t forcing him to do anything. It was completely different from back then.

But the memories flooded into his mind as the machine closed around him. He looked down to see Plasmius in front of the computer, just like then. All the pain and hatred and fear welled up, suffocating him.

Don’t think about it. This is different than then! Sam and Tucker’s doubt and worries rang in his ears, Danielle’s pleas, all the evil laughter, all the menacing taunts and glares…

“Daniel…” Danny’s eyes opened (he hadn’t even realized he’d shut them) at the soft voice inside the machine. “Everything is ready.” Vlad didn’t say anything more but Danny heard the slight question at the end of the phrase. Danny nodded feebly down at Vlad. Vlad nodded up and clicked a button. Danny heard the whirling and humming as the machine came to life around him and he felt the electric power filling the air of the chamber.

“Alright Danny…transform on the count of three.” Danny’s heart pounded but he willed himself to calm, mentally preparing himself the same way he did every time he was about to fight ghosts. He was Danny Phantom. Everything was alright.

“One…

“Two…

“Three.” Danny ignited his energy and transformed. Instantly he was Danny Fenton again.

“No good, it was too quick. Try to stave off the transformation,” Vlad said through the microphone. Danny nodded and tried again.

“One…two…three.” Danny ignited the power and transformed, trying to only transform halfway, keeping the silver rings around his body but the energy was like a broken dam, flowing free and powerful. He held it for barely a second.

“Come on Daniel, focus.” Vlad’s voice was hard. It was the voice he used while training Danny, serious and all business. This was a form of training in its own right, and Danny needed to take it just as seriously. He nodded and tried again.

Each time proved the same as the last until Danny was panting and aching inside the chamber. His nerves tingled from transforming over and over, and his muscles were tense and on fire from trying to stop the transformation mid-morph.

“Vlad…Vlad, I can’t…it’s too hard…” Danny gasped between pants. There was no comment back. Danny gazed out of the glass window of the machine to see Vlad below. He was staring at the computer, his eyebrows knitted and his shoulders tense.

“You have to,” Vlad finally said. He pressed a button and suddenly restraints sprang out in the chamber, locking Danny’s arms and legs into place. Reflexively, Danny struggled against them, the metal biting coldly into his wrists and ankles. 

“Vlad? What are you doing?” Danny demanded, glaring down at the half ghost outside. He didn’t look up. 

The machine buzzed to life and something electric snapped in the air of the chamber.

“One…”

“Vlad! What are you doing? Get these off!”

“Two…”

“Vlad!!”

“Three.” A shock entered Danny’s body. 

He screamed out, everything suddenly in pain, clamping down on his powers, making him turn human. He fought it off but it was like a plug in his energies, holding them open so the rings stayed around his body. His head and feet were Phantom, but his torso, his heart was Fenton. It hurt, the electricity holding him like this, burning him, ripping his two halves and melding them together. His heart pounded blood into his system, but half his body was dead…

He screamed until he couldn’t hear his voice anymore and then suddenly, it was over.

The rings separated and disappeared, leaving him wholly Fenton. His body drooped tiredly, the pain completely gone. Only a dull ache remained in his human body. The restraints disappeared and the chamber opened. Danny fell forward and into strong arms.

“Daniel…Daniel, please I…” Vlad said, his voice soft and pained.

Danny gasped and scrambled up, pulling off the wires and tripping away from Vlad. His mind was reeling. He was afraid. Afraid of Vlad. Vlad’s blue face seemed unfamiliar, his eyes dark and menacing despite the way they pleaded at Danny. All the boy could think of was the cold voice counting in the chamber, the pain, the lies, the uncertainties. Old memories suddenly mixed with the present as Danny backed away from the vampire, the pain still so fresh, so familiar.  
How could he…

“Danny…I…it was just to—”

“Did you get it?”

“Huh?”

“The DNA? Did you get the DNA?”

Vlad blinked at Danny’s blank voice, so rough and low. He flicked his eyes to the computer and then nodded. Danny nodded too.

“Okay.”

“Daniel—”

The boy didn’t stay to listen. He transformed and fled before he could do anything he might regret. He couldn’t talk now. The expression Vlad had as he escaped through the portal, so filled with shame and pain, stained Danny’s thoughts.


	12. Chapter 12

Danny flew through town that day, circling Amity Park, avoiding people and ghosts alike until 4 oclock when it was acceptable to return home. He couldn’t have his parents finding out about him skipping school.

He walked through the door of his home to find his parents in the living room, fidgeting with their inventions. He tried to walk passed them, but his dad spotted him.

“Danny! Come over here son, and see what me and your mother fixed up!”

“Actually dad…I had a rough day at school and I really just want to go to my room for a bit,” Danny said, his voice quiet and hoarse. 

Maddie, the mother with intuition and tact, pulled off her goggles and eyed her son. “Everything alright, Danny? Anything you want to talk about?”

Danny shook his head silently. “Just…you know prom tomorrow, and graduation next month…”

“Ah yes. The realization that everything is coming to end has finally sunk in,” Jack said, nodding his head confidently. “Everything’s changing. You’re saying goodbye.” Danny’s eyebrows knitted together and he turned his head towards the stairs before his parents could see the tears in his eyes. “Chin up, Danny! In a few months, you’ll be in college, which is where all the fun really is! It’s where you make friends for life and discover who you’re going to be! You do a lot of growing up in college! Just look at me! I knew by my sophomore year I’d be a ghost hunter! It’s also where I met your mother, and Vlad, who’s still my best friend to this day!”

Danny bit his lip to keep the sob down. 

“Danny…” Maddie said, standing slowly as though trying not to scare off a rabbit. “Sweetie, are you…”

“I’m really tired,” Danny said finally, turning and hurrying to his room. He quietly shut the door behind him and fell onto his bed. 

He didn’t cry. He didn’t shout or sob or swear.

He just lay there quietly. He tucked his legs into his chest and sighed. It’s just a part of life…change and saying good bye. 

“Why would he do that?” Danny muttered into his pillow. He sat up quickly, running his fingers through his dark hair. “Sure Vlad is a total nut and he can get carried away but…” Danny couldn’t resist the urge to jut his lower lip out in a pout as he glared at his hands. “…he promised he’d never hurt me. Even before we started dating…when it was just the truce, he said he’d never really hurt me.”

He flipped his hands over, staring at the backs and then at the palms again. His fingers were rougher than they’d been in his freshman year, more callused from all the training and ghost fighting in the past years. Surely Danny was strong enough to handle a little shock…and surely Vlad had a logical reason for doing what he did.

“Heh, Vlad and logical in the same thought? I don’t think so,” Danny muttered bitterly. So then maybe…

“God, what am I doing, making excuses for him!? He strapped me to that machine and zapped me! He didn’t listen to me, heard me screaming and didn’t do a thing!” Danny cried into his pillow which he smacked into his face to muffle his anger. “He didn’t even really explain or apologize!”

He chose Danielle. He’s doing what he did back then; taking from me to give to her. To create his perfect clone…

Danny sighed and flopped back onto the bed, staring at the ceiling. “And soon I’ll be obsolete.” He rubbed at his eyes tiredly. “Tucker was right. All I have are failures in my relationships. I couldn’t even be good enough for an old fruitloop…”

…

Knock knock

“Danny?”

The voice was soft and quiet. Familiar. Danny’s mind swam slowly from sleep. His limbs felt heavy but he managed to lift his hand and touch the other side of the bed. His voice was hoarse and hushed. “Vlad…?”

“Danny sweet, are you awake?” Danny blinked and opened his eyes as he realized the voice was much too sweet and womanly to be Vlad’s.

“Yeah mom,” he muttered, louder this time so she could hear him.

“You’ve been sleeping all this time? It’s nearly dinner time. Your father is threatening to eat your portion if you don’t go down there,” Maddie laughed as she entered the teen’s room. “He’s really excited about showing you his new invention.”

Just the idea of getting out of bed, only to have his father’s newest gadget buzzing in his face or trying to tear him molecule by molecule, was painful enough to wrench a groan from Danny.

“Not hungry mom. Tell dad I’m sorry.”

“Oh Danny, are you all right?” Danny felt the bed dip slightly as she sat on the edge. He closed his eyes, not wanting to see the concerned gaze of his mother trying to read his expressions. “You just seem so down today. Actually, nearly all week you’ve seemed…” She trailed off and Danny couldn’t bite back the scoff.

“All week? How would you know? You and dad have been hidden in the lab every day!” His voice was still husky with sleep but the biting tone wasn’t lost to Maddie. He didn’t like speaking to her like this, but he was just so angry and upset and alone.

“Danny, I know work can sometimes get in the way of our life,” Maddie began and Danny rolled his blue eyes. “But we love you, and if there’s ever anything you need to tell us, don’t hesitate. Alright?”

Danny blinked. Why did it have to be so hard? Why couldn’t be just believe her, trust her, and tell her everything. Because she’d hate you. She’d be disappointed and ashamed and she’d hate you. Her and dad…said that annoying, bitter little voice in the back of Danny’s head that always convinced Danny to lie all these years.

“Alright mom. Thanks.” Danny flinched slightly when a hand touched his head, but immediately leaned into the contact as his mother quietly stroked his hair. He really missed her…

“Oh Danny. I know Senior year of high school is hard. But you’re still a kid. It only gets better from here. Promise.”

“Right,” Danny said with a sigh, sitting up in bed and offering his mother a smile. She smiled back and stood. 

“Come on, let’s go before your father eats both our plates!”

Danny laughed and threw his legs off the side of the bed just as a chill ran through him. It traveled through his body and the feeling was so suddenly cold that he gasped, his breath escaping his lips in a light mist. Really? Now?

“Um, let me just get ready mom. I feel kind of stiff from that long nap,” Danny said hastily, glancing around his room. 

“Alright Danny. Don’t be long!” Maddie called as she closed the door behind her. 

Immediately Danny raised his arms and the rings spread over him. “Dang, it’s been forever since a ghost has snuck up on me,” Danny muttered, turning intangible and searching the house. A thought occurred to Danny suddenly.

What if it’s Vlad? The thought sent a chill down his spine, but not with desire or excitement. It was like his body reverted back to four years ago, when the very thought of Vlad made him annoyed and scared.

Danny shook his head and continued searching, with new vigor. The house was ghost-less (well, except him) so he checked the outside of the house. 

Floating by his bedroom window, tapping at the glass, floated a ghost.

He had purple skin and pointed ears. His clothes were gray and his hair of mess of black. Not Vlad. Probably not even much of a threat.

“What do you think you’re doing? It’s not polite to peep,” Danny said, folding his arms as he floated behind the specter. It’d been a while since he’d fought a ghost. He smiled at the idea. Might relieve me of some stress.

The ghost flinched and turned. Once he spotted Danny, he turned fully to face him, his eyes wide. 

“T-the ghost boy?” the purple skinned ghost said, his voice hoarse and whiny. “What are you doing…Oh” The ghost scratched at his purple neck and glanced at the large Fenton Works sign. “This is where you live...isn’t it?” 

The purple ghost seemed about ready to flee, eyeing Danny cautiously. Danny was used to it by now. But he honestly didn’t want to ghost to get away; he wanted some fun. 

But the ghost didn’t fly away. Instead, he coughed lightly and glanced left then right. “So as I hear it, you’re in alliance with Plasmius now…” the purple skinned ghost said, as though trying to carefully skirt around a serious topic.

Danny flinched and narrowed his eyes, not wanting to talk about Vlad right now. “What’s it to you who I ally myself with?”

“Oh come on Phantom, every ghost in the Ghost Zone is interested in you. And the fact that the only two halfas in the world are no longer enemies, well….that’s big news.” The ghost’s smile stretched sheepishly across his face as he floated before Danny. 

“Look, if you’re here to interview me, I’m busy all week, so could you just—”

“You seem kind of touchy on that subject,” the ghost said, his eyes still darting from side to side. “I imagine it’d be nice, having the powerful Plasmius as a friend. No ghosts have been bothering you now that you’re chums with him, but…” the ghost finally looked Danny straight in the eye, his jittery demeanor calming slightly. “I don’t see him. Actually, before some issues came up that caused me to be here…” he scratched his neck and glanced at Danny’s house. “…it seemed to me that Plasmius has been pretty preoccupied lately with other matters.”

Danny’s ears pricked. “What do you mean?”

“He’s been zipping in and out of the ghost zone more than usual lately, discussing with cohorts and all that. Must be planning something big.” The ghost’s smile grew and Danny was faced with razor sharp teeth lining neatly in the specter’s mouth.

Danny shook his head. “Vlad doesn’t ‘plan’ anything anymore.”

“Oh? Is that what he’s told you?” the ghost laughed, and suddenly the ghost didn’t sound anxious and nervous but mocking, and Danny’s cheeks flared angrily.

“I’m sorry ghost boy, but Plasmius has been around for about twenty human years longer than you, and the ghosts of the Zone have learned quickly that he’s one nefarious son of a bitch! He must have said some pretty words to make you believe he’s changed.”

Danny held back the defensive words, silently seething at this ghost’s blatant attack on Vlad, but hating himself more for wanting to defend Vlad right now.

Danny simply glared at the loud mouthed ghost, his hands curling into fists. None of the ghosts knew the extent of Vlad and Danny’s relationship. Vlad said it was to protect them from vengeful ghosts but Danny just saw it as more lies and secrets. This ghost didn’t know what he was talking about.

“You probably thought he changed, but I’m sure that’s just what he wanted you believe. Plasmius always has something up his sleeve, there’s always a double meaning to what he says. He probably just wanted you out of the way, so he pretended to be good and friendly when in reality he’s just been sneaking around doing underground business.” The ghost sounded like he was having a mild conversation, simply commenting on an innocent topic.

“And what do you know?” Danny shouted, his eyes flashing.

“Enough.” Said the ghost with an indifferent shrug. “It’s not like I’m acquainted, but the halfas are famous in the Ghost world. You should know this by now. Everyone knows the Ghost boy; a hero, protecting the humans. You’re more widely known as a half human, but everybody knows Plasmius is vindictive, always plotting—” 

“Just shut up!” Danny yelled, throwing an angry green blast at the ghost. “I’m tired of everyone bashing Vlad, trying to make me believe he’s still bad! I trust him!”

“And that’s you’re first problem.” Danny blinked and the ghost was gone. Danny was suddenly hit in the back and thrown forward, slamming into the brick wall of his house. “Everyone thinks you’re stronger because you’re still half alive. But you’re human side just makes you weak.” The ghost scoffed at Danny, suddenly appearing beside him. 

Danny snarled and shot another blast, but the ghost was gone in a blink. He reappeared before Danny, but before purple skin could throw a punch, Danny darted to the side. 

“You’re emotions make you too trusting, too kind,” the ghost said. “You’re going to be killed one of these days anyway because of this weakness. If not killed by Plasimus, then by someone else.” He glanced at the house and scratched his neck. “Maybe even by some amateur ghost hunters that you believe love you.”

“I said shut up!”

“Hey hey, I’m just telling the truth” the ghost said, throwing up his hands in defense. “I’m just trying to take advantage of this golden opportunity.” The ghost’s raised hands glowed and a bright ecto-blast soared toward Danny. He spread his hands out and a green shield fazed before him, deflecting the attack just in time. “Everyone wants to defeat you, Phantom. I mean you’re the ghost boy! But ever since you and Plasmius are all buddy-buddy, no one’s dared!” The ghost shrugged almost apologetically. “I’ve got to at least try, before Plasmius decides to finally turn on you.”

Anger roiled inside Danny, igniting his core. It just wouldn’t stop, the constant doubt plaguing his mind! Ghosts were saying it, his friends were saying it, proof around every corner that Vlad was just the same as always, that he couldn’t be trusted. Danny didn’t want to believe—couldn’t believe!—that all this time, Vlad was just plotting and lying, that everything they did together, everything he said meant nothing! Danny just couldn’t take it anymore!

He cried out and released the power in a blinding rage. When he opened his eyes, ice covered the side of the house, the street below, as though an ice bomb had exploded on the corner. The ghost before him was covered in frosted ice, encasing him.

Danny flew over, grabbed him and diving to the street below at top speed. In a rushing blur the street grew closer. Danny turned intangible and the frozen ghost feel from his grasp, shattering on the hard street in a thunderous explosion. 

Danny turned tangible and lowered to the street, his boots crunching lightly from the frost. He shivered, his breath coming out in a panting mist. Usually he could control his core much better than this.

He sighed and flew up and through his bedroom window, transforming back into Fenton. What was the deal with that ghost…? Danny shook his head. There were always ghosts like that, obsessed with the halfas. Either they were jealous or angry or curious. Danny was just an anomaly in this world and the next.

Danny rubbed his arms distractedly. That ghost had said Vlad was in and out of the Ghost Zone a lot lately. Why? Wasn’t he couped up in his lab all week helping Dani? Had he really been planning something all this time?

Everything was a fuzzy mess in Danny’s head. 'I’m seventeen! I’m not bright!' He didn’t know what to do, what to believe? What was going on??

The boy, too overwhelmed, fell to his knees in his bedroom and wrapped his arms around himself, trying to hold everything in. His chest hurt, holding onto all the pain and stress. He just wanted to let it all out; the lies, the secrets, the confusion, the fear, the anxiety. He wanted Dani to be better, he wanted Vlad to be how he was last week, he wanted to tell his parents about his powers, he wanted to tell his friends about Vlad, he wanted his older sister back home, he wanted to pass his finals and be done with prom…

Sobs racked through him, making him tremble but he didn’t utter a sound. His eyes stayed dry but his body shook fiercely. Danny Fenton finally broke and he wasn’t sure who he could count on to pick up the pieces. 

The only thing he was sure of now…he couldn’t trust Vlad.  
…

“Danny! Took you long enough! Come look at what we finished!” Jack called as Danny made his way down the stairs. He entered the kitchen and grabbed his food from the fridge.

Putting it in the microwave, Danny called, “What is it, Dad?” Danny walked into the living room, his shoulders low and his face deceptively blank. His mother was busy leaning over some notes. 

“Earlier this week, I managed to fish out a ghost from the Ghost Zone with my Fenton ghost fisher,” Jack bragged, but all Danny could hear was ghost ghost ghost. “The little sucker was a biter, but we managed to trap him and keep him in the lab until we could test him for this!” Jack held up the little probe that had latched itself onto Danny a few days ago. “We let the ghost go and then released the probe! We were going to track it but…the dang thing was working just fine a moment ago.” Jack fidgeted with the contraption and Danny sighed.

“Hey dad, what did this ghost look like?” he asked, trying to sound mildly curious.

“I don’t know. Purple, sharp teeth that he kept snapping with. Ghosts all look the same to me,” his father said offhandedly. 

Danny sighed and rolled his eyes. Even unintentionally, my parents are going to be the death of me. Danny heard the beep of the microwave and went back for his food, silently cursing his lucky stars. His parents would release a dangerous ghost that liked to blabber about Vlad and Danny’s “relationship”. Geez.

Just as he pulled out the heated plate, the cell phone in his pocket buzzed.

He fished it out, blowing on the plate, and then flipped it open. His heart stopped.

1 text message. From Vlad.

\--Daniel, can you come by tonight?

No apology, no explanation, or reason. Danny glared at the text, wanting to stick the phone in the microwave or melt it with ecto-energy. Instead, Danny wrote back.

\--Sure.

Stuffing the food into his mouth and swallowing quickly, he hurried upstairs. “I’m going over to Sam’s!” he called and closed his bedroom door. He packed his backpack and ran downstairs. 

“Have fun, son!” Jack called. Danny ignored his mother’s concerned gaze and left the house. Once outside, he ran to the side of the house away from the streets and went ghost. He fazed back into the house, going to the lab.

He paused and eyed some of the weapons on the counters. Shaking his head, he flew into the ghost zone. If he had to face Plasmius, he’d do it as he always had; on his own and with his own hands.

…

Danny quickly passed through the Ghost Zone, his heartbeat calm and his expression hard. He was on his guard. He hated that he had to be, or that he thought he had to be. But over the years, Danny learned that he needed to keep his guard up at all times.

You’re emotions make you too trusting…

Danny shook his head, trying to erase that annoying ghost’s words from his mind. Focus, Fenton!

He sighed a breath to calm himself as he approached the portal. Here we go. No matter what happens…I can handle it. I’m Danny Phantom.

He exited the Ghost Zone and entered into Vlad’s lower lab. Unsurprisingly, Danielle and Vlad were there; Vlad is in his ghost form and Danielle in her human form.

“You all better yet?” Danny asked, stepping into the lab. He glanced anxiously at Vlad, his nerves spiked now that he was in the man’s presence. His every sense filled with Vlad, wanting to reach out, touch him, but also alert and cautious. It was a delicate, dangerous line.

“Daniel, glad you could make it,” Vlad said, reaching out and patting Danny’s back. Danny refused to flinch. “I’ll be back in a little bit. Watch Danielle alright? I know what a great baby-sister you are.” Vlad’s voice sounded amused. He reached out and touched Danielle’s head briefly before turning to the Ghost portal.

“Wait, where are you—” But Vlad had already stepped through. Danny puffed out a sigh and glared at the portal. “Hmm…”

“Hey cousin,” Danielle exclaimed with a smile. Her blue eyes were blazing with excitement. “Vlad says you helped him earlier today, and gave him a vital part that will help me maintain my form!” She hugged him tightly. “Thanks so much, Danny.”

“No problem, Dani,” the boy said quietly. “But how come he hasn’t given you my morph DNA yet?” Danny didn’t particularly want to think about the process Vlad had used to gain the DNA, but it was hard with the chamber and computer staring at him from across the room, like cold statues, staring. 

Danielle pulled away from Danny and glanced at the portal. “He said he needed something before he could give it to me. One last thing to mix with the DNA so my form would stabilize for good.” Danielle smiled slightly. “So that I’ll finally be completely healed.”

Danny looked at the open portal as well, the swirling ecto-enery calling to him. He wanted to follow Vlad, find out where he was going. Why would Vlad need something else? He had said the morph DNA was all that was needed. Why not just give Danielle the DNA and then get the other stuff? Maybe Vlad wasn’t going to give Danielle the DNA…just like last time. Maybe Vlad was really trying to create a perfect clone…

'No! Stop this! It’s not like back then!' Danny thought, desperately pushing away those annoying little voices in his mind that seemed to be taking residence these last few days. 'I already heard Vlad say he loved Danielle. He’s doing this all for her now…'

'But what if he’s lying to both of us, like he had four years ago…'

Danny sighed heavily, Danielle gazing up at him curiously.

“You alright?”

“Fine,” Danny muttered distractedly, transforming back into human form and approaching the main computer cautiously. He wouldn’t follow Vlad, not now. He had agreed to baby-sit after all. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t do some well-meaned snooping. 

'I wonder what he has on here… 'Danny wondered for the first time. He never bothered Vlad with his work, always just left him to himself. But now, Danny couldn’t help being curious and wondering if Vlad had anything incriminating on here. 

'God, I feel like Jaz…' Danny thought bitterly as he typed in a password. Incorrect. He tried something else. Incorrect.

“Dani, do you know the password to this thing?” Danny asked after the fourth failed attempt.

“Nope, Vlad never mentioned it,” Dani said. “And I’m not down here enough to have seen him type it in.”

Danny raised his head and looking to the girl. “Not down here? Then what do you do all day?”

She shrugged. “Vlad usually runs a few tests or scans but for most of the day he’s down here by himself. He always sends me away to sleep or play video games by myself.” She folded her arms and pouted. “It’s so boring around here most of the time. That’s why I like it so much when you come by!”

Danielle smiled at her older cousin, who gazed intently at her back. He glanced at the portal. “Shit…”

Danielle’s eyes widened slightly. “Hey Danny, are you alright? You seem kind of…” Danny walked passed her and looked through the lab, through papers and equipment, examining and rifling. “…jittery. Is something wrong?”

Danny looked to his cousin when he could find nothing suspicious. “Dani, what’s Vlad like around you? I mean, when I’m not here? Is he…nice? Does he say or do anything weird?”

Dani blinked and then fidgeted with her hands slightly. “Well I wouldn’t say nice, Vlad’s not exactly a nice guy but he’s been…less of an evil jerk, if that means anything. And he’s always kind of weird, you know that.” She smiled crookedly at him.

Her cheeks flushed slightly then and the smile turned into a smaller, warmer grin. Danny’s heart dropped into his stomach. “I mean, like I said, I don’t see him much and usually I would avoid him anyway because of the past. But since you seem to trust him, I tried and he’s been…well he said…”

“Yeah I got it,” Danny said, raising a hand and shaking his head, trying to forget that smile and the words he knew Danielle was going to repeat. That Vlad had said he loved her…

Danny figured Vlad wouldn’t have actually done anything with Danielle yet, but the feelings were probably still there. He just wanted his perfect Dani first, fixed and ready, and then he’d choose her. Then he’d leave Danny and be together with Danielle. 

He rubbed his eyes, suddenly very tired. Dani regarded him curiously.

“Are you alright, Danny? Really? I’m your clone; I can tell your upset.” When Danny shook his head, Danielle put her hands on her hips. 

“Danielle, don’t worry about it. It’s just…grown up stuff.”

“You’re not a grown up yet, Danny,” Danielle countered, glaring at her older cousin. “We’re supposed to be family, and family tells each other things. Important things, like if something’s wrong or if you’re upset. They don’t keep secrets.”

Danielle’s blue eyes searched Danny’s identical ones. He sighed. If she kept battering him, he might just slip. He couldn’t let that happen. He had to search the house while Vlad was gone. Maybe in his private study…or his office…something. Something about his plans and feelings for Danielle…or something that might tell Danny if everyone’s been right about Vlad all this time…

“Well…we’re not much of a family then, are we?” Danny muttered and turned to leave the lab.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY SO A QUICK NOTE: I'm still getting used to publishing here on Archive, so there may be some formatting issues. Danny's thoughts and the text messages were supposed to be in italics but for some reason its not...so instead I put single quotation marks such as, 'Vlad is so super hot!' Danny thought to himself. I know i probably missed some though, so if at any point it randomly switches to first person, just know that's Danny's thoughts!! So sorry, please let me know if there's any other blaring mistakes I can fix! Please and thank you! ^^


	13. Chapter 13

Danielle watched as Danny exited the lab, leaving her alone. She sighed. “Geez, what’s his problem? I thought he’d be more excited that I’m going to get better soon.” 

She sighed happily to herself. Finally…I’m going to be all better. I’m going to be normal! Ever since she was created, she’d had problems with her form. Finally, after so long, she was going to be a hundred percent better. And it was all thanks to—

Danielle paused in her thoughts, suddenly remembering something Danny had asked a minute earlier. He had asked how Vlad was like around her. Danielle had tried to answer as best she could, but she honestly wasn’t sure herself. 

She had expected Vlad to be like he was back then, the last time she’d seen him; cold, detached, cruel, mocking. He had demanded so much of her, making her do things she really hadn’t wanted to do. But the Vlad she’d been living with recently was much more…like the Vlad before she’d met Danny. Gentler, kinder…he had smiled at her and praised her, vowing to protect her. That Vlad was the one she had loved, the one she would have done anything for. But then he’d turned into someone else; an evil monster. 

Danielle thought back to the past few days, how eventually Vlad became more and more focused on her problems and how much angrier he got when things didn’t work. He’d always apologized and last night…well last night he had said he loved her.

Danielle narrowed her eyes slightly as she thought. Had he really meant it? Does he really care for me now?

Well Danny trusts him, so I guess there’s no reason for him to really lie to me.

But when I first arrived, he was still so cold and had refused to help me. Now he’s saying he loves me. What changed?

Danielle sighed, wishing she could talk to Danny about this. He seemed to understand Vlad more than she did; he was the one who formed an alliance with the guy and became friends.

But lately Danny seemed much more…stressed around Vlad. The thought sent a chill down Danielle’s spine. Was something happening between them? Did Vlad do something wrong?

But he’s been so nice lately…

Danielle shook her head. She could worry about this later. Right now, Vlad was out getting the last item and then Danielle would be better. She just knew it.

“Maybe I should practice a bit, just to keep my ghost half strong,” she said to herself. She took a breath and let the white rings slip over her body, transforming her. “Just for a bit, to keep up my strength,” she muttered to herself again with a smile, but in the back of her mind, Danielle knew it was just her childish impatience pressing forward. 

She missed being a ghost. She missed flying around and being intangible and invisible. She missed the freedom. But also, she wanted to get rid of that pull. The ghost half needed attention too, and the more she staved off not transforming, the more something deep inside her hurt and yearned. The ghost half was a part of her, just as much as her arm or leg was a part of her. Unlike Vlad or Danny, Danielle was born half ghost and half human. Both sides were equally important to her; they were all she’d ever known. She needed this ghost half to survive if all of her was going to survive.

Danielle cautiously left the floor, rising into the air. She smiled slightly. Her form was stable enough for now, but she had to be careful. No powers and not for too long. That’s what Vlad had told her.

Danielle glanced up and stared at the open portal, its swirling ecto-energy suddenly calling to her like a beacon, turning and turning like a hypnosis wheel. Danielle Phantom wanted to be in the Ghost Zone.

She’d never been there before, not once. She was never strong enough. Even now, she knew she wasn’t strong enough. But it called and begged, that same something in her core inching her closer and closer. This is where ghosts lived, where they went, where they’re supposed to be. 

“Just for a second…” Danielle whispered, glancing behind her towards the stairs. Danny was long gone. “He seemed pretty preoccupied with something anyway. I’ll just stay out of his hair for a while…”

Danielle faced the portal, floating over until she was right before it. The pull on her core was strong. “Just for a second,” she repeated, taking a deep breath and slipping into the Zone.

…

“Wow…” Danielle whispered, looking around her. Her body felt different as she soared through the Zone, her senses tingling. Everything was so…strange.

There was no warmth anywhere in this world, no life at all and it was a little unnerving to someone who was human half the time. There was no sky or ground, no definite up or down, just straight or back really. She gazed around her, green eyes wide.

“Wow.” She repeated again, this time with a bit more excitement in her voice as she flew faster. Everything was so new! And this place was huge! Who knew how many cool places there was to explore around here!

“Well hello,” she said as she spotted doors before her. Dozens upon dozens of doors, all different shapes and sizes just floating before her. “I wonder where these lead. Hmm…eenie meenie, this one!” She flew to a blue door flying high up. Opening it, she saw a young girl playing with a little boy, presumably her brother. They were jumping rope, laughing together, and their skin was transparent. They didn’t notice Danielle, who merely smiled and closed the door. 

She chose another door, opened it, and saw that it was filled with butterflies. “Oh wow!” she exclaimed, staring at the assortment of butterflies, shimmering in all kinds of colors, fluttering and flying in a large mass. Suddenly all the butterflies converged together, the colors shifting and blending until the butterflies all morphed together and Danielle stood facing herself.

This Danielle smiled at her, but inside those eyes, Danielle saw millions of shimmering colors, like the simmering butterflies. Danielle smiled back and waved.

Her replica in the doorway waved too and then in a burst, the butterflies all separated and flew around, circling and diving and twirling. Danielle laughed and closed the door.

“This place is awesome! How come Danny doesn’t hang out here more often?” Danielle exclaimed, eying the doors to decide which one to pick next.

“You’re late!”

The voice that suddenly reached Danielle’s ears was familiar. She quickly hid behind the nearest door and peeked around. Way down below, Vlad floated. 

Danielle’s eyes widened slightly. Danielle had always seen Plasmius as an intimidating, super powerful spirit, but seeing him floating in this huge world full of ghosts, he seemed like just one of thousands.

Danielle smiled and was just about to fly out to greet him, maybe even help him get the last ingredient, until she saw another ghost fly towards Vlad. She stopped, slightly intimidated and slightly curious. This ghost looked more like a robot, with a large chest and arms, and head of flaming green hair.

“Sorry sir,” the ghost said, his voice deep. 

Sir? Danielle wondered. Who was this big ghost, calling Vlad sir?

“Did you at least bring what I asked for?” Vlad asked impatiently.

“Yes, though it was a bit tricky to get. What do you need this for anyway?” the ghost asked, handing Vlad a small vial. Danielle was too far away to properly see what was inside it, but she did notice the strange ghost smirk. “Does this have anything to do with the whelp you’ve suddenly taken a liking to?” He laughed, and it didn’t sound like a nice laugh, more like rocks all rumbling together. “Everyone’s been talking about it all over the Zone.”

Vlad tucked the vial into a hidden pocket and scoffed. “Well people need to mind their own business,” he mumbled, only caught by Danielle due to her sensitive hearing. Vlad laughed lightly. “Though I do so enjoy the spotlight. But honestly Skulker, you of all people; I thought you knew me better than that.” Vlad shook his head and something about this conversation was sending butterflies in Danielle’s stomach, and it wasn’t the nice shimmering butterflies just beyond the door. “I haven’t ‘taken a liking’ to anyone; Danny Phantom just needed to be out of the way, you know that.” Vlad smirked then, and Danielle’s heart dropped. 

“He’s just a child; easy to fool. Heh, he really believes I’ve turned over a new leaf. I almost feel sorry for him.”

“So then what’s the pure ectoplasm for?” the ghost named Skulker asked, apparently referring to the vial’s contents.

“Just an experiment I’m working on. It’s a failure now, but hopefully with more research and testing it can turn into something useful.” Vlad’s voice stung, sending an ache deep into Danielle’s insides. The coldness, the way he just shrugged…failure…it was all like before. Imperfection…mistake…Vlad hadn’t changed! She knew it!

Danielle narrowed her eyes, blinking away the tears, her hands curling into fists and energy building up unconsciously. She wanted to go down there and blast him, punch him and beat him!

A nauseous feeling suddenly swept over her. Danielle looked at her blazing hand, noticing that it was de-evolving into ectoplasm! 

“Ahh!” she screamed and stopped the flow of energy. The melting stopped but her scream had alerted those below her. Vlad and Skulker were staring up at her.

Vlad’s eyes narrowed and Skulker’s eyes widened.

“The whelp?” he questioned.

“No…my experiment,” Vlad said, his voice devoid of any emotion. Skulker smirked again and suddenly his entire presence changed. His muscles seemed to tense up, his shoulder’s rounded forward and his head lowered, his eyes glinting with something…predatory. He raised his arm but before he could do anything, 

Danielle dashed away, flying as fast as her weakened ghost form would allow.

She panted and flew, passing doors and floating rocks and tunnels and paths, and dead plants, all of the Ghost Zone, until she spotted Vlad’s portal. She crashed in, immediately breathing in fresh living air. She stopped just before smashing into the lab table, turning human mid-air and falling to the ground. She scrambled up, ignoring the pain in her knees from the fall and running up the stairs, out the lab. She kept running, running through the house she’d spent the past few days in, almost enjoying herself. She ran and ran until she toppled into someone, nearly knocking them over.

“Danny!!” she cried, wrapping her arms around her cousin, finding comfort in his presence. He was here. He would protect her, he always did.

“Danny! Vlad! It’s Vlad! He—I was in the portal, even though I shouldn’t have, but I just wanted to—I saw, Danny I saw—”

“Danielle, whoa whoa,” Danny tried to say, pulling Danielle from him to look at her wide-eyed face. Danielle just kept rambling on, too scared to say what needed to be said. 

Vlad was lying. He was still bad, all this time. She’d seen, she’d heard.

Her voice was hoarse and low, shocked and saddened by her own words. “Danny…Danny, you were wrong.”


	14. Chapter 14

Danny gripped Danielle’s shoulders tightly, staring into her frightened blue eyes. “Dani, wait! What happened? What are you talking about?” he said, his voice serious and commanding, the voice he used when there was serious business that needed to get done. “What was I wrong about?”

“About Vlad!” Danielle said, her voice desperate and angry. “I heard him, Danny! I heard—”

Danny gasped suddenly as a chill went through him, his breath escaping his lips. Dani noticed it and froze. They both looked up just as Vlad fazed from the floor and landed before them.

“Stay away from my cousin!” Danielle shouted, turning to face Vlad, spreading out her arms as though defending Danny with her body. “I heard you! Everything you told us has been a lie! “

“Danielle, you don’t know what you’re talking about,” Vlad said with a wave of his hand. “That was merely—”

“What?” Danielle accused. “You can’t lie your way out of this; I heard you say to Skulker that you didn’t care for Danny or…or for me! I was just an experiment and you wanted Danny out of the way!”

Danny’s eyes widened at Danielle’s words. “Skulker!” Danny questioned incredulously, throwing Vlad an angry glare. “You told me you weren’t consorting with that crazy hunter anymore!”

“Danny…it’s not what you…” Vlad started, looking for the right words. But Danny wouldn’t have it anymore. Vlad wasn’t going to use any “pretty words” to trick Danny, not this time. Danielle had heard it, _proof_ that Vlad was still the same as all those years ago! Danny trusted Danielle way more than Vlad right now.

Vlad stared at Danny, his red eyes almost pleading, searching Danny’s blue ones. He took a step forward and Danny reacted quickly, transforming and standing before Danielle, his posture tight and defensive.

Vlad looked as though he’d been slapped in the face. “Danny…what are you doing! Don’t you believe me?”

“I’m not so sure I do, Plasmius. Not anymore,” Danny said steadily, his chin raised and his eyes hard.

Vlad looked shocked and then he bared his fangs and narrowed his eyes at the ghost boy. “You’re such a nuisance sometimes Daniel, honestly!”

“That’s why you’ve been pretending to be his friend, so he’d be out of the way for whatever it is you’re planning!” Danielle shouted from behind Danny.

Vlad glaring at the two Dannys and then sighed. “Planning, huh? You mean with this?” Vlad reached into an inner pocket and Danny, not knowing what it’d be and with his adrenaline pumping, summoned green energy to his hands in warning. Vlad’s eyes widened minimally and then he extracted the vial.

Black rings slipped over Plasmius, revealing Masters. Vlad silently tossed the small bottle to Danny, who deftly caught it with one hand, eying it suspiciously. “I needed Skulker to get this for me,” Vlad said, voice tight. “It has to be combined with your morph DNA before it can be accepted by Danielle’s body.”

“What is it?” Danny questioned cautiously, the energy in his hands fading.

“Pure ecto-plasm,” Vlad replied, his expression deceptively blank, but his navy eyes seemed hard and guarded. “Since its Danielle’s ghost half that is unstable, it’s almost like the equivalent of giving a blood transfusion.” Vlad’s eyes softened slightly as he regarded Danny and then said quietly, “I’d already asked you for enough with the DNA. I decided to use pure ecto-plasm instead of taking some from you as well.”

Danny’s hand clenched over the vial as those words, remembering Vlad shocking him, ignoring his cries. What did all this mean? Was Vlad telling the truth? Could he be trusted?

Danny glanced briefly behind him at Danielle, who was glaring at Vlad. No, probably not. Danielle had heard Vlad say awful things, things that that random purple ghost from earlier had mentioned. Was it all true than? Could all of this—their entire relationship!—have just been some trick…?

“Daniel…”

Danny ignored Vlad and tossed him back the vial. “Alright,” he said, his voice guarded. “We’ll let you do the transfusion.”

“What!?” Danielle exclaimed. “But Danny—”

“Danielle, he’s got the cure. Whether he’s been lying about everything else isn’t the most important thing right now.”

“But—”

Danny turned and looked Danielle in the eye. “I want you better, Danielle. That’s all I care about right now. If he’s got the cure, I’m going to let him give it to you.” Danielle still looked worried, and it reminded Danny of when they’d first arrived here, when Danielle had run away and Danny was trying to convince her to trust Vlad, by trusting Danny. The only difference now, was that even Danny didn’t trust Vlad anymore. “I’m going to be right by you. I’m not going to let anything happen to you. Trust me.”

Danielle stared up at Danny with wonder and nodded. “Always Danny. You’re like my brother.”

Danny, satisfied, turned back to Vlad, who had remained where he was, holding the vial and regarding the two before him. Danny nodded and took a defensive step forward. “If you think of pulling anything, I won’t hesitant to kick your ass right then and there.” Vlad’s eyebrows knitted together briefly but he said nothing, merely transforming back into his ghost form and sinking into the floor.

Danny held out his hand, which Danielle took silently. Not wanting to risk Dani's health by turning intangible, the duo took the stairs down to the lab.

…

Danny stood by Danielle the entire time, his white hair gleaming in the dark room, his green eyes shining bright as they flashed between Danielle and Vlad.

Vlad silently went about the treatment, meticulous and careful, not uttering a word. He seemed either lost in thought, or too concerned about what he was doing to say much.

This silence gave Danny some time to sort out his thoughts. What was he going to do now?

_Once Danielle is fixed, should she come live with me? She can’t stay here. What about me and Vlad? Will we start fighting again? Will he attack Amity Park or my father again? Will he hit on my mom? Danny shuddered and shook his head. How could things go back to how they were after all this time, after everything had changed? But maybe things hadn’t changed at all…_

Danny sighed inwardly, watching Vlad carefully. The older half ghost cradled Danielle’s arm as though caring for an infant, his eyebrows drawn together in concern and concentration as he inserted the needle. Danny watched as though he were an intruder.

_Maybe Vlad isn’t plotting anything evil…maybe this is just all about her. Danny thought mildly, almost as a simple passing wonder. The vial he got from Skulker doesn’t seem to be dangerous…he genuinely was trying to help Dani. Vlad’s always a suspicious guy anyway, using people and playing games. Maybe he’s lying just until he tells Danielle everything, about his real feelings for her._

Once Vlad finished, he told Danielle to change. She looked to Danny, who nodded. She took a breath and transformed.

She was cautious, like every other time, opening and closing her fists, staring down at her feet before slowly rising into the air.

She flew high, circling the air, and laughing slightly. She summoned energy and shot a beam at the nearest wall. No melting. No weakness. She laughed again, spinning in the air, crying out in joy. Danny smiled. She was finally all better.

He glanced at Vlad, who was also watching Danielle. Vlad’s expression looked triumphant, his eyes wide and his smile broad. But there was also something softer in his red eyes, a sort of affection in his smile and Danny’s heart dropped.

_So it’s true…_

“Danny, can you believe it! I feel great!!” Danielle exclaimed, laughing and twirling, her face open and joyful, as though a huge weight was lifted. She soared down, twirling around Danny who laughed and rose into the air with her, circling her and flying beside her. Danielle was going to be okay. She was happy. That’s all that Danny cared about.

Danielle lowered toward Vlad, her face still smiling. She opened her mouth, as thought about to say something to him, her arms slightly outstretched towards him. Vlad’s eyes widened expectantly and his hands twitched. But Danielle paused, as though realizing what she was about to do, and to whom.

Danny lowered to the floor, eyeing them mildly, his heart ripping piece by piece.

He suddenly felt a buzzing in his suit pocket and pulled out his cellphone. He glanced at the two briefly and then turned to leave the lab. Vlad wasn’t going to hurt Danielle.

“Hello?” Danny asked as he entered the private study. He turned human and leaned against the wall as Sam’s voice filled the speaker.

“Danny? Hey, are you alright?” she asked. Leave it to Sam to hear the total anguish in Danny’s neutral tone.

“I’m fine, Sam. Look, now’s not exactly the best time…”

“Danny, do you wanna go to prom with me tomorrow?”

Danny paused, the words a complete reverse of anything he’d imagine talking about right now. “Uh…”

“I know I’m calling kind of late and this is so last minute but I just thought…”

“Prom? You mean like…as friends?”

There was a long pause on the other end and Danny waited, his heart suddenly pounding hard in his ears.

“Well no. Danny look, ever since we broke up I felt like…well like it was a mistake,” Sam finally said, her voice careful but also boarding on emotional. “I want to get back together.”

All Danny’s weight sagged into the wall behind him and he slid down to the floor. What was happening? Sam was asking…she wanted to…

Danny ran a hand through his hair, then licked his lips, coughed, but still couldn’t find the voice to reply. What was he to say? _I’m already seeing someone?_ Probably not for long… _I’m in love with someone else?_ She’d just ask questions and honestly, what did it matter? Vlad and Danielle were in the lab now and Vlad was probably so happy to have his “perfect clone”…

Danny’s heart was beating so fast, his mind spinning, and he almost forgot about the phone at his ear until he heard Sam ask, “Danny? Still there? Danny, I just—”

“Sam, I’ll call you back.” He snapped his phone shut and dropped it next to him with a clatter.

_Maybe I should just get back with Sam. I do love her…and she’s still in love with me_. Danny shook his head slowly, completely thrown by this news. Danny’s heart just didn’t feel that way for Sam anymore though…but his heart couldn’t feel what it felt now for Vlad. Not anymore. Something had to change, or Danny would be torn apart and utterly alone. Suddenly the room around him blurred and swam.

_If Vlad is still bad…I’ve lost him._

_If Vlad loves Danielle instead…I’ve lost him._

Danny felt his heart finally snap in half and the tears rained down harshly. He sobbed and cried openly into his arms, all his exhaustion, confusion and heartache pouring out. He wasn’t strong enough to hold it in anymore and he cried and cried, all alone in the private study. All his sacrifice, all the changes and worries, and he was just going to lose Vlad like that! He suddenly felt so alone, knowing he lost the one person he told everything, the one person he’d lie for time and time again. His mind was mush, numb and he continued crying until he thought he was going to end up completely empty. He didn’t know what else he could possibly do...


	15. Chapter 15

Dani soared higher, higher, enjoying the weightlessness of it. Her body felt so light and loose and free! No nausea or sore limbs or headaches. She could fly, she could use her powers, she could be a ghost for as long as she wanted. Finally, _finally_ , Danielle was whole.

She laughed and twirled around Danny until he joined her in the air. They spun and flew in circles and Dani never felt happier. She glanced down to see Vlad staring up at her with a smile. She grinned and raced towards him, her arms extended to hug him and thank him over and over for helping her, fixing her!

But she paused just before, her eyes widen slightly, as realization dawned on her like a splash of cold water. Vlad had said she didn’t matter, that she was just a failure. An experiment. This didn’t really mean anything to him; it was just another challenge to conquer, a discovery to be made.

Danielle eyed Vlad carefully as she floated before him. He stared back, his eyes searching hers.

She looked away briefly, her white eyebrows scrunching above her nose. “I’m not going to thank you. I still don’t trust you,” she said, her voice tight and pointed.

Vlad merely nodded. Danielle looked to him, her eyes searching his now. “I won’t let you hurt my cousin,” she warned, her tone low. “I don’t know why you bothered to make me better if you’ve just been using us this whole time but—”

“Danielle, it was a lie.” Vlad’s voice was calm and stern, his eyes not wavering.

“What was?”

“What I said to Skulker.” Vlad sighed and scratched his neck. “With Daniel and myself in this alliance with each other, other ghosts tend to get…suspicious. Hybrids are strong on their own, but together… ghosts think we’ll try to enslave them or something.” Vlad laughed nervously and Danielle glared at him.

“Would you?”

Vlad shook his head. “No. My friendship with Danny is important to me; very important, and I’m not going to try to do anything that would jeopardize it. I lied to that ghost, pretending I was merely using Daniel so that ghosts would think everything is normal, that I’m the same and the two hybrids are still pitted against each other.”

“Like…how Superman doesn’t want anyone knowing he loves Lois Lane because he thinks people will hurt her to get to him?” Danielle questioned.

Vlad blanched and looked away. “Yeah…something like that. You’ll have to talk to Danny more about it later…”

Danielle glared at the man before her, still not completely convinced. “When you first created me…you saw me as a mistake. You told me you loved me, that you were going to make me better, when all you were doing was using me to make an even better clone!” Danielle’s voice was getting louder with each word, her heart racing faster. “And now…I decide to trust Danny, who for some reason trusts you, who believes you’ll make me better…but then you say I’m just another failure!”

Danielle blinked away the tears threatening to spill over. She hated him! She hated how much she always wanted to trust this man, how much he still had a hold on her heart and emotions even after all he’d done.

“Why?” she almost pleaded, her voice so soft and broken. “Why…why did you say that, and then fix me? Are you that cruel, that you’re just going to heal me now, and melt me down later for the next experiment? Was it just to see if you could? Or…”

Suddenly Danielle was pulled from the air and tugged into Vlad’s strong arms. His hot core blazed against Danielle and as much as she wanted to pull away, she couldn’t.

“You said you loved me…that you’d do anything to help me…but you were lying, weren’t you?” she whispered against his chest.

“I wasn’t lie. Not that time,” Vlad said, holding the girl close. “Danielle, all those years ago, I was so desperate, so fixated on exactly what I wanted, that if I didn’t get exactly that, I was angry and vengeful. I was obsessed with this ‘perfect life’…a perfect wife and a perfect son…” Vlad paused and Danielle waited, not breathing. “I didn’t realize all I wanted…all I needed was love. Not the love of some perfect, fake life but real love, that I hadn’t realized I already got from you.”

Vlad moved Danielle away so he could look at her face. “Danielle, you loved me unconditionally. You were the first one who wanted to make me proud, who wanted me to love them. And I was too blind to see it.” He moved a stray white strand from Danielle’s eyes. “You are my daughter. There’s nothing I’d want to change about that. I wasn’t lying when I said I loved you, and…I’m sorry about…everything.”

“Your…daughter?” Danielle asked, her green eyes wide, scared to believe him. He nodded and Danielle couldn’t help it. She wanted to be strong, to be tough, but she was still a little girl. A little girl who had missed her daddy. Tears slipped down her face and she hugged Vlad tight.

He wrapped his arms around her, soothing her. She trembled and cried, laughing and sobbing. She was so happy, but also terrified. She still wasn’t completely sure if he could be trusted…she needed to talk to Danny. But right now, Danielle hoped and prayed that she could stay this happy. To finally have the father she wanted.

She pulled away, wiping her cheeks and blushing. She looked around, just then noticing that Danny had left the lab. “Well…I really should talk to Danny…I mean he might be…”

“Wait,” Vlad said, his eyes traveling towards the stairs and then back to Danielle. “ _I’ll_ talk to Danny. You stay down here and try out your powers, make sure everything is working properly.”

Danielle paused, not sure if she should leave Danny and Vlad alone. She nodded and watched as he left. She’d listen carefully and then venture up in a few minutes, just to check up. She knew Danny could probably take care of himself, but now that Danielle had her powers fixed, she knew she could really help Danny out, like he always had for her.

…

Vlad floated up and into the private study. He paused and looked to the side, noticing a lump by the wall.

Vlad sighed at seeing the young boy, human and asleep, seated on the floor, cell phone resting beside him. Vlad scooped up the young boy and grabbed the cellphone before flying through the house towards the bedroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter, I know, but we are slowly reaching the end! Horray! :D Hope you're all sticking with me and enjoying the story, despite poor Danny's issues! ^^"


	16. Chapter 16

Danny hated waking up. Sleep was so easy, so blank and calm. He blinked and cracked his eyes open, memories flooding his mind.

He noticed he was in bed. _Had it all been dream_ …?

Vlad’s bed, not his own. He sat up and looked around the room. Vlad was standing on the opposite side of the bed, out of his suit and in more comfortable clothes. He regarded Danny with a calm, guarded expression, almost hesitant, like an owner watching his dog after it’d suddenly snapped at him.

Danny watched him and then narrowed his eyes. “Where’s Danielle?”

“Down in the lab, trying out her powers,” Vlad answered. “She’s alright.”

Danny flung the covers from his body and made as though to get out of bed but Vlad held up a hand, halting the boy momentarily. “Don’t. I told you, she’s fine. We need to talk.” Danny glared at Vlad, and was going to ignore him but Vlad plowed on quickly. The older man folded his arms, giving Danny a very parental look, before saying in a hard voice, “So, you want to tell me what the hell is going on with you? Why you stood against me, threatened me like I’m that fantasized villain of years ago?” Vlad’s voice was controlled but obviously irritated and impatient.

Danny looked down at his hands. He wanted to go get out of there, to go and find Danielle. But he had to end this. It was now or never. He had to talk about his concerns and doubts, especially after what he’d heard and did. He took a breath, calming his nerves and steeling himself.

“You love Danielle, don’t you?”

“What?” Vlad said after a pregnant pause, his aggravated expression breaking into deep confusion. “What does that have to do anything right now?”

“Everything!” Danny exclaimed, his calm cracking as the flood of emotions and words finally broke. “You don’t need me anymore! You’ve got her, your perfect clone!”

“Perfect clone? What are you—”

“She’s just like me; she IS me! She’s half ghost, looks like me, acts like me and she’s a girl! You can make her whatever you want, what could I possibly give you that she can’t!” Danny exclaimed. “You love _her_ now!”

“Danny, Danielle is a child. My child, my daughter.”

“You used to want me as a son,” Danny muttered, glaring at the far wall, unable to look Vlad in the eye.

He heard Vlad sighed and risked a glance up. Vlad was rubbing his hand over his face, his shoulders tense. He still looked so tired…

“You’ve been doing so much for her this week…but was it really for her?” Danny asked carefully and Vlad finally looked up. “You were consulting with Skulker again, even though we agreed you weren’t going to anymore. You’ve been going in and out of the Ghost Zone, doing who-know’s-what! God…”

Danny ran his fingers through his hair and realized he was shaking. He brought his knees closer to his chest and thanked Vlad in his head for staying on the other side of the room.

“My friends don’t trust you…you were so different back then and I thought after all this—you and me—you could be trusted. But this past week…I just don’t know anymore…”

“You don’t trust me…? That’s what this is really all about?” Vlad asked, his eyes searching Danny’s face.

“How can I!?” Danny nearly screamed. “All those memories from when we were enemies have just been running through my head this whole week! You’ve been secretive, experimenting into the late nights, not calling me…Vlad, you strapped me inside a machine and nearly tortured me!!”

Danny’s body trembled and he felt tears rolling down his cheeks. He felt physically ill.

“Daniel…”

“I don’t know what’s going on anymore…I don’t know what to think or who to go to…I want to believe you Vlad, so badly, but I just can’t anymore…” Danny buried his face in his trembling hands. “I’ve just been so confused and upset and _alone_ lately, and I’m scared it’s never going to get better…”

Vlad crossed the room in barely a second. Suddenly his arms were around Danny, holding him tightly, his mouth kissing the black hair and his large hands rubbing soothingly into Danny’s back.

“Daniel, I love you. That’s _never_ going to change, I’ve always loved you. Danielle is my daughter, that is all. It just took me a while to realize how I felt for her, the same way it took me a while to realize my feelings for you.” Danny pushed feebly at Vlad’s chest but the man merely tightened his hold. The warmth and familiar smell of this man surrounded Danny, suffocating him, filling him until it was too much and he latched on to Vlad, trembling and pressing him closer. “Daniel, you’re you. I have more memories with you than anyone else. It doesn’t matter how many clones I make of you; they may all have your face and your DNA and your powers, but they’re not you. Do you hear me?”

Danny just nodded, not trusting his voice.

“They’re not going to share the same memories I have with you, the fights and struggles and the peace we finally found and everything after that. They’re not going to be as good, and as stubborn and as loving as you. _You_ chose me Daniel, and _you_ saved me. I don’t want anyone else.”

A quiet sob wrenched itself out of Danny and he buried his face into Vlad chest to muffle any more embarrassing noises.

“As for Skulker, I’m trying to keep all this a secret, like we agreed. So I must act as I used to, as though nothing has changed between us.”

“What do you mean, ‘all this’?”

“Our relationship Danny,” Vlad explained, his voice laced in humor and strained patience. “We agreed it’d be dangerous for others to know. That’s why I haven’t been very clingy with you with Danielle around. She’s not to know as well, right?”

Danny didn’t say anything, feeling like a stupid little kid. Vlad always made everything sound so simple and clear. Probably because he was a reasonable adult…Danny kept his secrets from his friends and his parents, but he hadn’t thought about the people Vlad had to keep this all a secret from. He’d just been acting like a jealous teenager, letting his hormones drive his emotions. Hadn’t Danny learned anything from his experience with the weather powers all those years ago…?

“Daniel…” Vlad said, pulling the ghost boy from his chest and looking him seriously in the eye. “The thing about trust is…it’s a leap of faith. You’re not going to know everything I do every hour of the day. Yes, I went in and out of the ghost zone and I talked with Skulker…I’m sorry. But you have to trust that I’m not doing anything that would hurt you. Alright?”

Danny stared at the man before him, realizing Vlad wasn’t going to tell him everything. That there would be things he didn’t know or understand. Danny just had to trust him. And he did.

“So…so I mean, you love me? Still?” Danny said, his voice close to sounding like a child begging to know if his parents still cared for him. “You’re not going to hurt Danielle…or…”

“Other than a few suspicious activities, have I really done anything warranting your worry, Little Badger?” Vlad said with a small smile.

Danny’s face brightened at the nickname. He rubbed at his face, blushing. “God, I feel like such an idiot.”

“Haha, yes but you’re _my_ idiot, Daniel,” Vlad said, ruffling the boy’s hair.

“I’m going to tell them,” Danny said.

“Hm?”

“I’m going to tell my parents about my powers,” Danny said, staring at Vlad, silently searching.

Vlad nodded. “Graduation, right?” Vlad grabbed the ghost boy’s hand and squeezed.

Danny nodded too. “And about us. I’m going to tell them and my friends. I’m done with secrets.”

Vlad’s hand stilled over Danny’s and a nervous expression passed over the debonair features. Vlad blinked and pressed his lips together and then nodded. “If you’re ready Danny. I’m right here. Always.”

Danny stared at Vlad, and those few simple words suddenly rung truer in Danny’s heart more than ever before. He blinked away the tears and stood up, facing the millionaire, arms folded over his chest.

“All these words are pretty and whatever, but you still strapped me inside that machine and heard me screaming without so much as an apology.”

“Right,” Vlad said, looking away uncomfortably. “I am deeply sorry, Daniel. I needed that DNA and the only way to get it was to get you to transform and force it to stay midway. I’m sorry I didn’t explain it to you, I was afraid you’d say no…” Vlad stood quickly bringing his hands up as though to embrace Danny, but instead ran them through his silver hair, over his tired face, tugging at the hair on his chin.

“You owe me big time, for all the stress you’ve caused me this week,” Danny huffed. “I’m seventeen, my life is already riddled with pointless stress without worrying about my ex-arch-enemy-turned-secret-boyfriend acting suspicious.”

Vlad smiled almost sheepishly and nodded. “Of course, Little Badger. I’m sorry.”

Danny smiled and leapt forward, crushing his mouth into Vlad’s. The billionaire seemed surprised but quickly fell into it, running his hand through the dark hair and humming into soft lips.

“I’m so sorry, Daniel. I’m sorry I haven’t been more attentive to your needs,” Vlad said, his voice already breathless as he kissed, licked and bite Danny’s mouth, ravaging the pale neck and running his slender hands under the white T-shirt and over a hairless chest. “I’m sorry, so so sorry. Sorry that you felt you couldn’t come to me, sorry for what I did, what I made you think, for being such a cold and secretive bas—”

“Do you ever stop talking!” Danny growled, pushing Vlad onto the mattress and straddling his hips. “I’ve missed you, so I need to get some pent up angst out in sexual frustration.” Danny kissed Vlad’s lips hard and pulled back to look the man in the eye. “I forgive you okay? Just…no more secrets. Between us, or anyone. They’ve really been stressing me out.”

Vlad laughed and intertwined his long fingers behind Danny’s neck and lowering the boy’s face to his. He muttered the word against those soft lips, “Deal.”

As though a huge weight _finally_ released its death grip on Danny, he exhaled, laughing weakly and smiling. He kissed Vlad, who deftly flipped them over without breaking their lips apart.

Quick hands stripped Danny of his clothes, Vlad’s suit joining the T-shirt and jeans on the ground. Danny’s chest rose and fell quickly, bare skin running against bare skin. “Vlad…”

“Daniel. Do you remember our first time together?” Vlad muttered, trailing light kisses over flushed skin.

Danny, inarticulate at this point, merely nodded quickly.

“I was gentle, and slow. I didn’t move any quicker than you could handle. I didn’t abuse you, humiliate you, hurt you. I was careful,” Vlad said, his voice rough and quiet, soothing to Danny’s ears as his body was stroked and kissed all over. “You had laid bare to me that day, naked and vulnerable. You _trusted_ me, to not hurt you. That was you leaping, Daniel. The Leap of Faith. I didn’t hurt you then, and I never will Daniel.”

Danny whimpered, leaning up, throwing an arm around Vlad’s shoulders, kissing the man’s cheeks, nose, lips, anywhere he could. He felt like he was burning up inside.

“I love you, Danny. You’re my other half, the love I’ve searched so desperately for all my life,” Vlad said. He moved away from Danny’s lips, and like a switch, the caring romantic gentleman was replaced by the cocky pompous pervert, a predatory smirk on the man as he separated the boy’s legs and trailed kisses down the boy’s body, lower and lower. Danny squeezed his eyes shut, his heart pounding and his skin searing. “And now that I have you, my ghost boy, I’m never letting you go. I’m very possessive about what belongs to me.”

Vlad grinned wickedly, his dark blue eyes flitting down to Danny’s erect cock. He lowered until his lips hovered just over it. “Of course I belong to you just the same.” He chuckled and Danny trembled. “Oh, and this is revenge for that naughty trick you played under my desk the other day, Mr. Fenton.”

Vlad swallowed and Danny writhed.

All the doubt was erased. All the suspicions and concerns were gone. As the two halfas made slow love in that bed, revealing everything, unmasking every secret and every truth as they panted against each other, joined as one, both had never felt as much trust and love in another being as they did then.

…

Danny smiled, resting his head against Vlad’s chest, which had finally slowed back down. The room smelled hot and musky, like men and sex and sweat. The sheets stuck to the lower halves of their bodies, legs tangled together.

Danny listened to Vlad’s heart, felt the warm blood flowing through him but also the burning core deep within.

"You’re a real pain, Daniel. You know that?” Vlad muttered, his voice trying to be serious but his voice bordering on amusement. “You always work yourself up with those emotions of yours.”

“Haha imagine if I still had those weather powers,” Danny joked, looking up at his older lover.

“You were a real piece of work then,” Vlad said with a scowl but laughed and kissed Danny’s forehead, rolling on top of the teen.

“Ugh, Vlad you’re heavy! Get off!” Danny exclaimed with a laugh and a grunt as the man tried to suffocate the boy with kisses, ignoring his futile attempts to push the older hybrid off. Danny laughed anyway, reveling in the lack of worry, concern and confusion that had plagued him this last week.

Neither halfas heard or sensed someone coming towards their bedroom, nor did they notice the door silently swinging open. What they did hear was a young voice gasp.

Danny paused and Vlad froze, jumping away from the boy and facing the doorway, hands frantically grabbing at the sheets to make sure he was properly covered.

"Danielle!”

The youngest halfa stood in the doorway, her expression some twisted mixture of shock, confusion, and horror.

“D-Dani! I can explain!” Danny said, waving his hands frantically before him, but even with all his years of lying experience, he couldn’t come up with a single reasonable excuse for why he was lying naked in bed with her father. “Uhh…”

“You two…what the hell!?”

“Language, young lady!” Vlad chastised, though they all knew Dani could be excused this time.

“Dani, look, we didn’t want to tell you just cause…well we figured it’d be a bit strange to learn I was in a relationship with Vlad…but…well…everything’s okay now. And this is what it is,” Danny said, his shoulders lowering as he continued, looking to Vlad for support. The man nodded. “I’m just sorry you had to learn _this_ way.”

Dani was speechless, her eyes wide and face pale. She turned on her heel and darted out the room.

“Dani!” Danny yelled, throwing off the sheets and running for the door.

“Daniel!” Vlad called and Danny was going to ignore him until the man sternly said, “Clothes!”

…

Boxers, jeans and T-shirt clinging to him properly, Danny searched the mansion. “Damn it Vlad, it’s just you living here! Why do you have to emphasize your loneliness with such a huge empty house?”

“Money was the only thing I had for most of my adult life, I liked to surround myself with it,” Vlad said irritatingly, floating through the wall to glare at the ghost boy. “She’s not in the garden, lab or kitchen.”

“Well thank God I came along, I can only imagine how much bigger this place would have gotten had you stayed a lonely bachelor any longer,” Danny muttered, mentally crossing out all the rooms that were already checked.

“I probably would have had to buy the whole country in order to try and forget my pathetic loneliness,” Vlad said deadpanned, floating next to Danny. “Where haven’t you checked yet?”

“She’s got her powers back, she could be anywhere, in theory,” Danny murmured, trying to wrack his brain for some idea where his cousin had run to. “The Ghost Zone maybe?”

“I checked; the lock hasn’t been opened in the last hour.”

“And she’s not inside so…” Danny rubbed his neck and sighed deeply. “Is this what it’s gonna be like, Vlad? When I tell everyone?” Danny looked at his boyfriend, eyebrows knitted together.

“I doubt they’re going to run away like a petulant twelve year old.”

“But they won’t like it,” Danny insisted.

“Does it matter?”

Danny didn’t answer, making Vlad look at his young lover, his red eyes searching.

“They’re my family, Vlad,” Danny whispered. “I just…they’re all I have and I _can’t_ lose them.” Danny looked to Vlad, pleading to be understood. Vlad sighed and wrapped the boy in his arms.

“I’ve been alone for a long time. I’ve gotten used to it, but thanks to you, I remember what it’s like to really love and be loved. You’re the only thing that matters anymore Danny, the only person I need to worry about. But you…you have others you care about too…” Vlad held tighter. “And even though I want to be your only, now that I have Danielle, I understand why this is hard for you.”

“They’re going to hate it,” Danny said miserably.

Vlad sighed, running his fingers through Danny’s dark hair, down his slim back. The warmth of the shorter boy against him, clinging to him, needing him, comforted Vlad. He thought of those blue eyes, sometimes green, how they shined when the boy laughed, thought of his pout and his smile, of how vulnerable he looked when sad and how beautiful he was in bed. He thought of how Danny forgave him, after everything Vlad had ever done. He couldn’t lose this boy.

“Danny,” Vlad started, pulling the boy away to look at him. “Maybe you should wait to tell everyone. Especially your parents.”

“What?” Danny asked, confused. “But…Vlad, I’m tired of the lying. I don’t want to hide it anymore.”

“I know Danny, and I think it’s a good idea to tell them about your powers, but not about us. At least not yet.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re still so young Danny.”

“I’m going to be eighteen soon!”

“Yes, not even the legal age to drink or go to the casino though. I just think it might be an easier transition for your parents if you were a bit older…”

Danny stepped away from Vlad, glaring at him and then at the ground. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I…I mean…nevermind, we can talk about all this later but I need to find—” Danny paused, blinked and then sighed. “I’ll be right back. I think I know where she is.”

White rings surrounded the boy, leaving Phantom where Fenton had been. He turned intangible and flew through the walls and out the mansion.

He surveyed the area, spotted a dot of black hair and lowered towards it. Danielle hid behind the tree out front, the same tree she had hid behind when they’d first arrived days ago.

“Hey,” Danny said carefully, lowering to the ground and sitting beside her. When she didn’t appear to want to run again, he let the white rings slip over him and turn him human. He ran a hand through his hair, and sighed. “So…”

Danielle tugged her knees to her chest, looking forward. Danny waited for her to talk. Dani sighed and finally looked over to Danny, her blue eyes wide and shining. “So you guys have been…like dating, for a while now?”

“A few months now,” Danny said, nodding.

“Why?” Danielle said, her face contorting into some kind of grimace. “I mean…it just doesn’t make sense. You used to like Sam, and Vlad was always so…evil and he's _old_ —”

“I know, it’s weird, but other than you, Vlad is the only other halfa in the world, Dani,” Danny said, trying to find the words to make her understand. “You were gone for a long time, and me and him just…stopped fighting after a while. I don’t know how it really happened but…” He shrugged. “I love him.”

Danielle’s eyes widened slightly and then she let out a breath.

“So that’s why you brought me here and trusted him,” Danielle said, her voice uncharacteristically quiet. Danny nodded. Danielle sighed and shook her head. “It’s weird, Danny. I mean, really weird, to think of you guys…like that, but…I trust you.” She smiled at Danny and took his hand. “And now, I know I can trust my dad too.”

Danny let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding and smiled. _Maybe telling his family and friends wouldn’t be so bad_ …

His cousin smiled, her blue eyes twinkling as the tears disappeared. “This is totally gross by the way, I mean my _cousin and my father_!?” Dani said, shaking her head and sticking out her tongue. “Though you always were more like a brother to me, Danny.” She laughed and Danny couldn’t help joining her.

“So…you’re cool with this?” Danny asked hesitantly. When Danielle nodded, Danny scratched the back of his head with a surprised grin. “Wow, you really are a cool cousin. I mean, sister.”

“And I mean…I guess this just makes us an even closer family then right?” Danielle asked, a shy smile on her face, full of question. Danny gazed at that smile. She was very much like Vlad, both pinning for a family, so desperately, even if it wasn’t a completely ideal one. They just needed a family with people who cared for and understood them.

“A really weird family.” Danny and Danielle looked over to see Plasmius standing by, arms folded. A wide smile broke out over his blue face, fangs shining pleasantly. “But it doesn’t matter. It’s all I’ve wanted, and this one is perfect.”

“Cheesy line, from the chessehead himself, nice going, Plasmius,” Danny said with a laugh, rising and dusting off the back of his pants. “Don’t ruin the moment with your sass, boy,” Plasmius said, coming over and dusting the remaining dirt from Danny’s bottom with a smirk. He leaned down to kiss the boy when Danielle shrieked.

“Ew, not in front of me!” Danielle exclaimed like the child she was, jumping up and covering her face. Danny and Vlad laughed, and Dani couldn’t help smiling too.


	17. Chapter 17

“Where’d my shirt go?” Danny asked. Danielle had run off soon after the big reveal, waiting to use her new powers outside and fly around in the early morning air. Vlad had bustled Danny back into the mansion, into the bedroom and continued to resume where they’d left off before the interruption and thirty minutes later, Danny was shuffling around the bedroom looking for his clothes.

“I don’t know, I was in the throughs of passion when I disrobed you,” Vlad drawled, throwing on his white embroidered robe and some silk bottoms. He grabbed a hair-tie and pulled his hair back into his signature ponytail, eyes searching the room. “Over by the nightstand.”

“Thanks,” Danny said, pulling the offending shirt out from under the table. As he rose, he noticed his cell phone atop the nightstand. Danny pulled on the shirt, grabbed the phone and sat on the edge of the bed.

He stared at it a moment, thinking. Then he flipped it open and dialed a familiar number. 

“Hello?”

“Hey Sam. Sorry about earlier,” Danny said, his voice quiet but the room wasn’t massive and Vlad was merely six steps away. He raised a single silver eyebrow, but said nothing, heading into the master bathroom. Danny thanked him in his mind.

“No, I’m sorry Danny. I know I just kind of sprung that on you so suddenly, it’s just…it’s all I’ve been thinking about lately.” Danny listened as Sam spoke. Her voice was so familiar, so proud and kind and strong, a voice that usually filled Danny with confidence and support. He hated how that strong voice now sounded so confused and broken.

“Sam…honestly, I’m sorry…but I can’t. Not now. It’s…complicated,” Danny said, rubbing his eyes tiredly. 

“Complicated?” Sam asked, her voice taking on a curious and suspicious tone. “Danny, what’s been going on with you lately? You’ve skipped school, you’ve seemed so down and out of it lately…” 

“I can’t really talk about it Sam. Not now, but I will, I promise. You’ve got to trust me,” Danny said. “I can’t get back together with you. I love you Sam, but just…”

“Not like I love you,” Sam said. Danny opened his mouth to say something but Sam quickly continued. “Alright, I get it. Keep your secrets, whatever Danny.” The call dropped before Danny could respond. 

He stared at the phone a moment, then shut it and buried his face in his hands. 

“Everything alright?” Vlad asked, emerging from the bathroom and glancing smoothly at Danny. “Should I be concerned at all by that exclamation of love I just heard you give?” 

Danny didn’t respond, standing and pulling on his jeans silently. He heard Vlad quietly approach, the tension slowly seeping from his bones as strong arms wrapped around his torso. Cool lips kissed the back of his neck and Danny smelled spearmint as Vlad quietly spoke in his ear. 

“You need to talk to her, Daniel. It’ll be alright.”

“What if it’s not?” Danny whispered back. “She’s one of my best friends, Vlad. It’s just her and Tucker. I can’t lose either of them.” Danny moved his hands to Vlad’s, intertwining their fingers as the older man held him close. He gained comfort from this and sighed resolutely. He nodded. “I’ll just have to talk to her.” Danny glanced at the clock on the nightstand. 5:00AM. Saturday. “Tonight.”

… 

Danny watched the teens dancing to the loud, fast-paced music, girls in long gowns and boys in smart suits. He spotted Dash and Paulina dancing together, the picture of peferct couple, a shoe-in for King and Queen. Danny saw Tucker dancing with a cute blond and the two actually looked like they were having a good time. Danny couldn’t find Valerie. She never seemed the type to go to these things anyway. Then again, neither did—

Danny stared at the dark shadow of a girl in the corner. She looked beautiful. The dress was black and flowing, lace like webs running over her arms and shoulders. A purple crystal spider pinned her black hair up in a Victorian style bun. 

Danny floated over. He untapped one of the streamers on the ceiling and allowed it to fall. The Goth brushed away the fallen streamer with an irritated wave of her hand, glancing up. Danny turned visible and smiled shyly down at her, waving his hand. 

Sam gasped, her eyes widened as Danny lowered to the ground. His hair shone brightly, like fresh snow and his eyes glowed almost eerily in the poorly lit hall but no one looked twice with all the flashing lights and artificial fog. Everyone was enjoying themselves too much to bother with a single ghost boy crashing the prom. At least he’d dressed up. 

“You’re in a suit,” Sam said, eyeing Danny’s new tux with mild appreciation.

“Well its Prom, isn’t it?” Danny said with a smooth smile, extending his hand to his best friend.

Sam rolled her eyes and took his hand, allowing him to lead her silently, the teens swaying in their dark corner together.

“I thought you weren’t coming. 'It’s complicated', remember?” Sam mocked, arching a slim dark eyebrow.

“It is,” Danny said. “That’s why I’m here.”

“To give me answers?” 

“No,” Danny said, glancing at her with an apologetic smile. “I can’t. Not now, but I will Sam. Soon. I’ve just got to work some stuff out first.” Sam’s eyes narrowed as she scrutinized the half ghost before her. “All I can tell you now is that…I want us to stay friends. We work better this way, I think. Don’t you?” 

Sam sighed. She looked to the side, her eyes searching. Danny held his breath. This was it. She was going to walk away, leave Danny, heartbroken, their friendship ruined forever.

“I trust you, Danny,” Sam said. She smiled slightly up at him, a resigned smile, but a familiar one. “I guess I’m just used to you telling me everything. That’s what friends are for, right?” Her smile turned crooked, a much more familiar one and Danny smiled back. “You’re right. Things are simpler with us as friends. Besides, Tucker would feel like a third wheel again and that would mess up our little team.”

Danny smiled and laughed as the song ended and their little dance slowed to a stop. “So…we’re okay?” Danny asked, his eyebrows raised in question. Sam nodded. “You okay?” 

Sam sighed and nodded again. “I’ll be okay, Danny. Thanks. You’re the best.” 

Danny grinned. “Thanks, Sam. I appreciate it.” He glanced behind him. “Go have fun.” 

“You’re not gonna stay?” she asked. “It’s your prom too, you know?” Danny opened his mouth to speak, but a cool mist escaped his lips instead. Sam rolled her eyes with a knowing grin. “You need any help?”

“Nah, I’ll be okay,” Danny said, a smile threatening to break out over his face. “Go tell Tucker his dancing sucks worse than his singing.” 

Sam waved as Danny floated upward. He waved bye and floated through the ceiling. 

“Took you long enough. Honestly, you were _trying_ to make me jealous, dancing with someone else.” Danny grinned at Vlad’s irritated tone. “I was _this_ close to haunting the place, just to get it to stop.”

“Oh relax,” Danny grinned, floating up to his boyfriend. Music floated up through the ceiling to the roof, filling the cold night air. “I love you, Vlad. Care to dance?” 

Vlad grinned, fangs flashing. He spread his cape dramatically and bowed. He straightened up and took Danny’s hand. 

The two spun around, floating over the building; enjoying the calm night, enjoying the peace between them and reveling in the thought of things to come.

“It’ll all turn out okay, right?” Danny asked as they floated and swayed in sync.

“Of course, Daniel,” Vlad said, leaning forward and pressing a warm kiss to his boyfriend’s lips. “I’m right here, by your side. Always. So no more worrying, enjoy your prom!” 

Danny laughed as they flew higher, the music fading, along with all of Danny’s worries, fears and troubles. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright and there is it! :D again, sorry for any long delays but this is the end! There is one more chapter which is more of an epilogue but its still kind of a wrap up of the loose ends ^^ Hope you've enjoyed!


	18. Epilogue

“Dani, sit down!” Danny called, from the stove, furiously stirring the contents as well as watching the pan beside it to make sure nothing burned. The ghost girl obediently floated back down into her seat.

"Daniel, my boy, more wine please."

"I'm kind of busy here--"

"Danny, can I have soda with my dinner tonight?"

"Why don't you ask your father--"

"Ah ah ah, I'm off duty," Vlad said with a smug, relaxed grin, leaning back in his seat. "Tonight, Mommy is in charge."

Dani laughed and Danny's cheeks turned red. He was currently downed in Vlad's pink KISS THE COOK apron, which normally made Vlad look cute and domestic, but only managed to make Danny look girly. He had the sleeves of his sweater pushed up to his elbows and a bandanna was secured on his head to keep his bangs out of his face.

Danny had agreed to practice his non-existent cooking skills and make tonight's dinner for his 'family'. But it was much harder than he'd thought. Especially with Vlad being a pain in the neck.

"Daan-ny~" Vlad sung, wiggling his empty glass in the air.

"Just give me a minute!" Danny called, turning down a burner on the stove.

"So can I have soda tonight or what?" Dani asked.

"What? Oh yes fine sure."

"Yay! Danny is a way better daddy than Vlad!"

"Hey!" Vlad exclaimed, affronted as Danny snickered in triumph. "I'M the dad, permanently. Tonight, mommy is just in charge. But not for long..."

Danny slipped on an oven mitt and opened the oven door, looking over his shoulder to say something snide, when a cloud of thick smoke blasted into his face. Coughing and waving his hand in front of his eyes, Danny stepped back as Vlad stood, turning off the oven and stove top.

The older halfa chuckled, shaking his head and waving his hand as well to disperse the smoke. "Well, maybe you should just stick to ghost fighting then, hm, Little Badger?"

Danny glared at Vlad, his cheeks going red as he looked at the burned ruined food. "Hey, I tried."

"I know, I know, my little ghost boy," Vlad said with a smirk, gripping Danny's chin gently and kissing the boy's lips. Danny smiled despite his humiliation, leaning up into the kiss. Vlad cut it short though when a squeal of disgust filled the kitchen, due to one young ghost girl.

"I thought I said not in front of me!" Dani exclaimed, hands covering her eyes.

Vlad chuckled, glancing over at the ruined food. "Sooo...take out?"

...

"Dani's been out for a while," Danny commented when Vlad walked into the room with only a towel around his waist and a hand towel rubbing into his hair. Danny silently appreciated the lean, shirtless chest of his boyfriend.

"She's been unable to fully enjoy her powers for years now," Vlad commented. "I've tried giving that girl a curfew but she's technically going through her 'teen years' despite her body still being only twelve."

Danny chuckled and nodded. "Well I'm just glad she's out enjoying herself now."

Vlad nodded, a certain glint in his eyes as he crawled into bed with his young lover. "And I'm especially glad that she's out so we can enjoy ourselves."

Danny smiled and leaned up, meeting his lips to Vlad's. His hands moved to broad shoulders, humming quietly in contentment. The two kissed for a little while, keeping it slow and loving, slowly moving until they lay side by side on the bed.

They pulled apart, Vlad running his fingers through Danny's black hair, slowly, as though doing it just to touch the boy, to remind himself that he could. And that it was a wanted touch.

"It's finally happening..." Danny began quietly, his eyes low as he lazily drew his fingers through the fine silver hairs on Vlad's chest. "Next week."

"And how are we feeling about that?" Vlad asked cautiously, looking down on the young boy--no young man-- in his arms.

Danny shrugged. "The usual. Excited, nervous, anxious. I just want to get on with it, finally be done with high school and the secrets and start my life!" Danny paused, smiling up at Vlad warmly, knowing his life would very much consist of the older hybrid. "But...I'm also dreading it. No more Casper High, no more adventures with friends. Everyone's going there separate ways. And then there's also the problem of telling everyone about the secrets..." Danny groaned miserably, burying his face in Vlad's chest.

"There there, my little badger," Vlad said soothingly, a small smile on his lips as he stroked Danny's hair. "It'll turn out fine."

"You really think so...?"

Vlad bit his lip. "Well...I don't think its going to be completely fine, at least not right away. You're going to have to give them all time to adjust Daniel, and have patience with them."

Danny sighed, having wanted to hear that everything would go perfectly but he knew what Vlad said was true. This wasn't going to be easy, or simple. Danny appreciated the honesty though; he needed to hear it, to better prepare himself for it.

"I want you to wear that tie I got you for Christmas to the graduation," Danny said, changing the subject and smiling up at Vlad. "You look very handsome in it."

Vlad laughed at Danny's sudden lifted mood. "I suppose I can pull that one out for the occasion. It would look nice with the new suit I've just bought."

Danny smiled and relaxed into the bed, talking casually with his boyfriend, enjoying the calm before the storm.

He wasn't sure what would happen after graduation. He wasn't sure if everything would turn out fine. He might end up losing people in his life because of this. It scared Danny witless, to know his parents might either reject him with his powers, might reject him with Vlad, or just reject Vlad altogether. And his friends...

Danny tuned these thoughts out, enjoying the time he had with Vlad now. Their beginning wasn't great, and even now they still had their problems, their struggles. Trust was still tested between them, there were still fears, but as Vlad reached for Danny's hand and laughed and smiled and joked, Danny realized the two of them were never happier than they were when they were together. It was that bond, whatever it was, that connected them no matter their gender, age, personalities. They were a part of each other, two halves of a whole that needed each other to survive. They butted heads, and argued and hated each other more than they've hated anyone else. But they also understood each other better than anyone else. They also knew they could tell the other anything, that they could be completely honest and receive so much from the other in return. It was a beautiful terrible thing, but Danny needed it like air to breath or water to survive. He needed that completeness, that wholeness more than anything right now, as he felt the turning point in his life coming, and his world start to tilt. But so as long as Danny had Vlad, had this, he knew he would be okay.

...

"Daniel Fenton!"

Danny couldn't help the embarrassed smile that broke over his face at the huge applause coming from the front right row, drowning out the polite calmer applause of the rest of the crowd. Danny made his way to the stage, the tassel on his hat bouncing lightly against his left cheek, the gown hugging him loosely.

He took the diploma from the principal and shook his hand. He nodded to Mr. Lancer, who stood off to the side of the stage and smiled widely, returning the nod.

Danny walked off the stage and waved to his family shyly as he made his way back to the bleachers with the other senior students. Mom, Dad, and Jaz. Vlad and Dani too. Danny glanced over to the other F's and the M's in the student group, and saw Tucker and Sam give a thumbs up and grin. Everyone he cared for. His family, all here for him. Danny smiled and basked in the warm feeling of completeness in his stomach.

After the ceremony, and all the students threw their hats into the air in glorious freedom, Danny, Tucker and Sam meet up in the crowd and hugged, laughing and yelling with each other.

"We did it you guys!" Tucker exclaimed. "Now we have the rest of the summer to hang out!"

"Before college," Danny groaned, sticking out his tongue and laughing. "We're still planning on driving down to Florida right? A huge summer trip."

"Definitely," Sam said with a nod. She glanced over Danny's shoulder briefly. "Oh, I gotta go see my parents for pictures before they steam roll everyone to the ground to get over here."

"Yeah, I gotta go find my parents too," Tucker said, high fiving Danny before running off.

Danny smiled at Sam and the two hugged tightly before going their separate ways.

The new graduate smiled at some school acquaintances, waving to Valerie who was talking with her dad as he made his way over to his family.

"My little boy!" His mother gushed, pulling Danny into a tight hug.

"My son, finally graduated!" Jack bellowed, pulling his wife and son into a bear hug that nearly crushed the air from Danny's lungs.

"Nice going, little bro. Glad you didn't trip on stage," Jasmine said good naturedly, pulling her younger brother in for a hug herself.

"Yeah I was practicing all week. Last thing I needed was to mess up on the last day after four years of awkwardness," Danny said with a laugh.

"Congratulations, Danny!" Dani exclaimed, hugging Danny around the middle in a big hug. Danny laughed and hugged her back, briefly glancing at his parents. He wondered what Vlad told them, since they must have wondered at Vlad arriving here with some little girl they've never seen or heard of before.

"Really glad your here, Dani," Danny said with a warm smile at his little cousin. "It wouldn't have been the same without you."

"Of course, we're one and the same, you and me. And we're both awesome," Dani said with a sly smile. "We're always here for each other." Danny nodded.

"Congratulations, Little Badger," Vlad said with his customary smirk, his dark blue eyes gazing warmly at the young man. Danny smiled at the silver haired halfa, who looked impeccable as always, hair neat and suit trim and pressed. Danny released Dani and walked over to Vlad, not touching him but wanting very badly to. Vlad patted the boy's hat briefly.

"Thanks," Danny said quietly, emotions suddenly welling up in his throat, choking him. His heart was beating too fast, his throat tight. He moved closer and Vlad quickly pulled him into a hug, a briefly, fatherly-hug.

"Are you ready, Danny?" Vlad whispered in his ear.

Danny held onto Vlad a little tighter. He took a breath and released it, nodding. "Yes. They're my family, and I trust them. It's time."

Vlad nodded and the two separated before anyone noticed the extended hug. Even if they had, they wouldn't be confused for long...

"Hey, mind if I come celebrate with you Fentons?" Tucker popped up from the huge crowd, smiling hugely.

"Me too!" Sam chimed in. She had removed her hat, probably leaving it with her family, and opened her robe, to reveal an elegant short black dress.

"Of course! You kids are always welcome! I'm sure Danny wouldn't have a good time without you two!" Jack exclaimed with a laugh as Danny knuckle-bumped Tucker.

"Ready to go, Danny?" his mother asked with a wide grin. "We've got the house all set up, decorations and all your favorite foods..."

Danny nodded, turning to his family and friends. "Yup, I'm all ready. Oh and, when we get home... there's something I need to tell all of you."

All heads turned to Danny curiously. Sam and Tucker's eyes shined with apprehension but encouragement, knowing Danny was going to reveal the ghost secret to his parents. They were in for a surprise when they realized he was keeping an even bigger secret from them too.

Jaz caught Danny's eye, smiling warmly and giving a small thumbs up. Danny smiled and nodded.

He looked to Vlad, who nodded down at him and lifted his hand to rub Danny's back briefly.

"It's time I finally told you all... everything."

THE END.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There we go, all done finally! :D Again, so sorry that my updates were so far apart, but at least this was just the epilogue right? ^^" I'm going to be working on the sequel this weekend hopefully, or even sooner and possibly post it for Halloween! Look for it on Fanfiction, as well as here! Thank you so much and hope to see you again real soon!

**Author's Note:**

> So excited to be publishing this on here! I have this story on fanfiction.net, but I'll be tweaking some things and fixing some stuff up so it'll be a bit better for this site ^^
> 
> I'll probably be posting one or two chapters everyday so long as I'm able ^^ Hope you're enjoying enough to continue and leave me a little comment or kudos ;) much appreciated!

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Breakup Aftermath..?](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4553190) by [MupDupHelloThere](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MupDupHelloThere/pseuds/MupDupHelloThere)




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